Tender Seclusion
by Icebender21
Summary: Maybe the reason he’s so happy and friendly is because he’s scared of losing even a single friend. Truthfully, Luffy just can’t stand being alone. But he never will be as long as Zoro’s there. AU ZoLu.
1. Morose Tears

**Disclaimer**: I don't own One Piece, no I truly don't. I am, however, the proud owner of Two Wholes. Yes, that's right, I went there.

**Summary**: Maybe the reason he's so happy and friendly is because he's scared of losing even a single friend. Truthfully, Luffy just can't stand being alone. But he never will be as long as Zoro's there. AU ZoLu.

**Warning**: The wonderful shonen-ai and yaoi live in the story. Read at your own risk. And beware the possibility of fluffy cuteness later on. I think that's all.

* * *

**Morose Tears**

Being lonely and singled out was a terrible feeling. Imagine how completely abysmal it must've been for someone with a constant need for the companionship of others.

Yet, Monkey D. Luffy would never say anything.

He may not have been brightest boy at Loguetown High, but he was smart enough to know when his friend's had other plans and not to trouble them with his own problems. Besides, it wasn't really a 'problem' to begin with.

It was about 12:15 when the bell rang, signaling the end of fourth period and the beginning of first lunch. As usual, Luffy sprinted to the cafeteria, knocking out any student unlucky (or stupid) enough to come between him and his precious meat.

Once inside, the raven-haired boy dashed for the closest line and moaned impatiently as he had to wait for the cluster of students who had someone managed to arrive before him. There were only five other people ahead of him, but that was a _lot_ when you were hungry.

After obtaining his priceless meat-filled tray, Luffy grinned and set out to find his friends. It didn't take long. They always sat at the same table.

With his standard huge grin and a loud smack resounding from where the tray met table, the skinny junior plopped down at the head of the table next to Nami and Zoro.

"Ah man, how'd you guys get here before me?" Luffy whined, a tad disappointed.

"Easy," Nami responded, "We took the line with the fewest people rather than the one with the closest to the entrance." The redhead took a napkin and dabbed it at her lip, removing the crumbs from the cake she was giving.

"But it was a real fight!" Usopp exaggerated, occupying the space next to Zoro. "People were attacking us from all directions just to take our place in line! Luckily, I fought them all off without lifting a finger!" The tan-skinned man proudly placed a finger to his chest.

The green-haired senior scoffed. "As if. That ero cook only let us cut ahead 'cuz Nami was with us! Why else do you think she got cake while we only got those leftover muffins from breakfast?"

Luffy pouted. "Aw, Sanji's so lucky! He gets to work in the cafeteria and eat all the food he wants! I bet he takes some from all three lunches too, the bastard."

"And you wouldn't do the same?" Usopp questioned.

"Bastard," Luffy puffed again. Nami chuckled at the thought of how the blonde would look if he indeed ate like their friend suggested. The skinny boy bit off a huge piece of his drumstick before continuing. "Anyway, what're you guys doing tonight?"

"My dad wants me to go out Syrup Village with him," the teen with curly raven hair responded first.

"Vivi's coming here all the way from Alabasta and we're gonna spend the entire weekend together!" Nami squealed, giggling at the thought of seeing her long distance friend in what felt like years (even though it was only months). "Sanji-kun's coming with us."

"Naturally," Zoro grumbled. Luffy snatched the ham sandwich from his tray. The senior glared.

"Wadder you dunna fu?" the smaller teen asked, mouth filled with food.

"Huh?" came his response.

Luffy swallowed his mouthful in an effortless gulp. "I said, 'what're you gonna do?'.

"Probably sleep. You know I never feel like much of anything on Friday nights." Zoro replied. He stretched and let out a loud yawn. "Speaking of which, I think I'll head to the library for a quick nap."

"Okay," Nami and Usopp chimed like it was the most normal thing in the world. Zoro would more often than not take naps in the library. The only reason he wasn't kicked out was because the assistant librarian knew him, like the rest of his friends, on a personal level.

Zoro, however, couldn't help but notice the slight look of dejection that crept onto Luffy's face for a brief second. _Meh, probably seeing things._ He thought with another yawn.

XXmAgIcTiMeSkIpAcTiOnGoXX

After slamming his nearly empty locker shut, Zoro slung his black and green backpack over his shoulder out of the building. Reaching the student parking lot, he reached into the pocket of his jeans and took out the keys to his old car.

It wasn't the best looking car, but it wasn't as if he had anywhere to go other than school and the local gym, so he didn't complain.

Getting into the driver's seat, he noticed someone walking down the sidewalk with their head hung low. "Luffy?" he mumbled to himself. _Maybe I should give him a ride. He looks kinda down._

He mentally slapped himself.

_Give him a ride? Geez Zoro, it's only Luffy. Knowing him, he's looking at the ground 'cuz he saw some 'mystery' ants or something._

The green-haired man looked up one more time before starting the ignition. Luffy didn't get sad. He was always a happy and healthy little bundle of energy. What's he have to be sad about anyway?

"Ace'll take care of whatever it is," he grumbled to himself.

XXlEt'SpLaYtHeTiMeWaRpXX

Luffy threw himself down in the couch with a huge sigh. "Today was a lot more tiring than usual. It takes a lot to be happy all the time!" He tossed his backpack to the ground and turned on the television. Two Wholes, an action show about less-than-average cowboy adventurers, always seemed to put him in a good mood.

About an hour later, he heard the door to his and his brother's apartment swing open and a loud voice shout, "Luffy, I'm home!" followed by a track of canned laughter. Well, maybe not that last part…

"Hiya Ace!" the bouncy boy shouted excitedly, tackling his brother to the ground.

"Hey," the taller man replied, trying to shrug his younger sibling off of him. He didn't budge. "Luffy, move." Ace groaned.

"No!" Luffy stated defiantly, his lower lip poked out in a sad whimper. "If I move, you'll leave!"

Ace sighed and ran an hand through his messy raven locks. He knew this was coming sooner or later. "Luffy, we talked about this already. I have go all the way to the Grand Line to find a good college!"

"But why you have to go all the way there? There's a community college right here in Loguetown!" Luffy complained with no intention of removing himself from his brother's torso.

The freckled-faced man exhaled again before explaining. "I told you, the college here doesn't offer what I wanna major in, so I have to go out to the Grand Line to find it."

"Why do you wanna be a pyro technician anyway?" the younger groaned.

"Because," Ace began, moving his hands to tickle his brother in the sides, "Fire is the deadliest most beautiful thing in the world."

He was finally free of Luffy and said boy was rolling uncontrollably on the ground.

"I'll only be gone for the weekend. If you get lonely, just invite some friends over," Ace suggested.

"But they're all busy…" Luffy complained yet again.

The taller of the two placed his hands on the boy's shoulder. "Look, you're a bright kid. I know you'll figure out something to do to pass the time." He stopped to ruffle Luffy's hair. "In the meantime, I have to get ready. I'm supposed to meet Shanks in a bit."

"WHAT?! Shanks is going too!? That's not fair, Nii-chan!"

Ace ignored him and went into his bedroom to get ready. Luffy grumbled something rude and went back to watching his cowboy anime.

XXnOtHiNgClEvErThIsTiMeXX

On the other side of town, Zoro flipped through the channels in his apartment. The cable was out again. Figures.

He placed the remote by the television set and stalked off to his room. There was never anything to do besides school and the gym. Strangely, even his favorite workout place seemed uninteresting. It was all Luffy's fault.

Stupid round face.

Stupid huge smile.

Stupid gorgeous eyes.

Stupid bouncy personality.

Stupid sickening cuteness…

Try as he might, Zoro could not seem to take his mind from the silly straw hat boy. He never cared about him like that before. It had to be that damn sorrowful look. If Zoro had just left instead of trying to question things, he wouldn't be feeling this way.

Stupid curiosity.

Although, it was a bit refreshing to see the younger had other emotion besides perpetual happiness, even if the other emotion he saw just had to be sadness.

"This whole thing is just stupid! Ace is his brother, he'll take care of it!" the green-haired man growled. Ace was also a senior and he shared a fair amount of classes with the freckled man. They were… interesting. Especially during lab experiments involving fire.

No, no, no! He was supposed to be thinking of Luffy, not his brother. Argh! He wasn't even supposed to be thinking of Luffy!

Stupid hormones.

"Maybe if I went to visit him, I could stop thinking about him," Zoro pondered aloud. After several moments of consideration, he threw his head into a pillow. "Nah, that'd be too easy. Might as well nap."

XXsCeNeChAnGeFoUrXX

Luffy with his head buried in his knees on the sofa. It had been hours since Ace left to meet Shanks. He hadn't moved a single inch in that time. Not even his favorite cowboy escorting a lost princess to her kingdom cheered him up.

He missed Ace.

He felt lost.

He was lonely.

And so he continued to sit alone on the old blue sofa hoping a miracle would happen and his brother just had to return. He sat on the sofa, wallowing in his own silent seclusion.

**TBC? You bet!**

* * *

**Ending Omake**

Ice: Yosh! Can anyone tell me what my favorite number is?

Chopper: Is it twenty-one?

Ice: Aw, you're too cute! (pinches Chopper's cheeks) But no, it's not.

Chopper: (shocked)

Ice: It's seven, I say! Seven! And guess how many stories I have now! SEVEN!!

Usopp: Where did that come from?

Ice: Get out, you had you're turn!

Usopp: Freakin' psycho… (slams door)

Ice: Your mom's a psycho!

Chopper: (gasp) Ice-kun, Usopp-kun's mother is dead!

**TOTAL SILENCE OF DOOM!!111ONE**

Ice: Usopp-kun!! (chases Usopp)

Chopper: Please leave reviews! (hides behind table)

Ice: USOOOOOPP!!


	2. Apathetic Caller

**Disclaimer**: How do you think Oda-sensei would feel if someone actually managed to buy One Piece from him? I'm sure he'd be crushed and the fans would hate him/her. Thank God I don't have that kind of money…

**Summary**: Maybe the reason he's so happy and friendly is because he's scared of losing even a single friend. Truthfully, Luffy just can't stand being alone. But he never will be as long as Zoro's there. AU ZoLu.

**Warnings**: BL, fluff, sad Luffy, Zoro using his special cooking powers, Luffy orally raping various food items, all that blasphemous stuff.

WAIT!! I just want to take this moment to apologize to all my readers. Several people brought a very important fact to my attention. That last chapter could _never_ be called a oneshot! It was far too open-ended. My deepest apologizes to you all, I won't do it again! I worked on this all day to make up for my mistake, so please accept this as a gift. I hope you all keep reading and enjoy the story and its slowly developing plot!

* * *

**Apathetic Caller**

Eleven PM brought Zoro in front of apartment 125. Against his better judgment and common sense, his feet had dragged him all the way to Luffy and Ace's apartment.

"How do I get myself into these things?" the green-haired man mumbled aloud. Of course he _knew_ that both of the boys would probably be asleep by now and he'd just look stupid if he showed up just to leave.

He cursed his sense of direction. Zoro wouldn't even _be_ there so late if taken that left near Gallows Square instead of those eight consecutive rights (followed by going in the total opposite direction, which contradicted his earlier moves).

The man still asking himself why he had chosen to go over to Luffy's apartment in the first place.

"I should go home right now and save my myself the embarrassment. Even that bundle of get-up-and-go has to sleep, right?" Zoro mumbled. He slammed his fist on the door in frustration. "Damn it, why is this happening!?"

The senior shoved his hands and his pockets and turned to the stairwell (which floor was he on again?). He had barely gotten his foot off the ground when the door swung open.

_Crap! I did knock just now, didn't I? _He gasped as a pair of lanky arms wrapped tightly around his waist.

"Nii-chan! I knew you'd come! I knew you wouldn't really leave me for the whole weekend!" Luffy shouted excitedly as he smiled brightly into the man's tightly-built chest.

Tightly-built? Sure, Ace was a strong muscular man, but as many times as Luffy had hugged his brother there had always been some sort of comfortable relaxed feeling. This person just seemed to tense up.

The Straw Hat boy gulped and looked up. There was Zoro, staring straight into the apartment as if he was totally oblivious to the boy's misplaced affected. In was truth, he was so shocked he couldn't move. He was somewhat to breath, seeing as how it'd mean being even _closer _to the kind currently wrapped around him.

Slowly, and with a slight flush, Luffy let go and hung his head in disappointment. It not that he wasn't happy to see Zoro… he was really expecting it to be his older brother.

"Ahh! Zoro!" Luffy shouted abruptly. The taller man was thankful for the coating of darkness that hid his reddening face. "What are you doing here so late? I thought you and the others had plans!"

Still utterly shell-shocked, Zoro gulped audibly before giving his reply. "I was in the neighbor hood, so I thought I'd dropped by," he lied.

"Without getting lost?" Luffy blinked.

The green-haired man forgot his previous awkwardness and grumbled something under his breath.

"Now that you're here, you might as well come inside!" Luffy announced, opening the door the rest of the way. Zoro had no chance to protest as he was dragged inside and the entrance was slammed.

The neighbors were so complaining tomorrow morning…

XXgOgOsCeNeChAnGeGoGoXX

Luffy and Ace's apartment was actually quite cozy. A bit small for Zoro's tastes, but it was cozy nonetheless.

There was small coffee table in the center of the room between the old blue sofa and the television set. Said table was covered with amine magazines and Two Wholes manga which Zoro presumed belonged to the younger boy.

Luffy plopped down on the sofa with an excited grin, motioning for the green-haired man to sit next to him.

He seemed to be making a lot of careless moves tonight, for he didn't think twice about taking a seat.

"Yosh!! Zoro and me are gonna stay up all night long!!" the bouncy young teen holler right into the older man's ear. Zoro tried his hardest not to twist that around. Not that it was hard, erm, difficult.

He did scoot over just so slightly and if Luffy noticed this, he didn't say a word.

"So, uh…" Zoro began, trying for a small conversation, "Isn't Ace around? You sure he's okay having company so late?"

Luffy's smile disappeared and his head sank a little. "Ace is gonna be gone all weekend., so I'll just be here by myself."

Zoro's mouth formed an O shape and then he heard a strange gurgling sound. He looked over at Luffy, he face had tinted the subtle shade of red. The gurgling sound came again, this time it was louder.

If Zoro were the type to display emotions openly, he would've gasped and unmanly gasp. Instead, however, he looked to the boy in shock.

"Luffy… is your," Zoro gulped, at a loss for words, "Is your stomach growling?" Now this was an odd sight. Usually, the bouncy kid would just yell and beg for food when he was hungry. Never in all of their friendship had Zoro _heard_ Luffy's stomach growl.

"N-no! I'm not hungry at all. Why would you think that, baka Zoro?" the raven-haired boy teased.

The taller man raised and eyebrow. He didn't ask Luffy if he was hungry. Only if that was his stomach growling. But still, Luffy, Monkey D. Luffy, had just denied _food_!

The natural order was greatly disturbed on this night.

XXoMgInThEkItChEnXX

As Zoro stood over the stove in Luffy's tiny kitchen, he couldn't help but be concerned for his garbage disposal of a best friend.

_What on Earth is up with him? He's been acting so weird. All I did was mention Ace and he got all emo. I knew I shouldn't have come here. Smooth move, Zoro! You just blew off a whole night of samurai movies to comfort this guy!_

He removed the French fries from their oil-filled pan and moved them onto a plate while salting them lightly. Zoro was no Sanji, but the food he made was decent enough.

_Stupid ero-cook._ He snarled at the mere thought of that eyebrow freak.

Back in the living room, he shoved the plate of food (a burger and fries) in front of Luffy's face. The raven-haired boy tried to but on a scowl, failing miserably, and turned away from the offending meal.

_That sure smells good…_ He caught himself thinking. _No! I'm not eating until Ace gets back!_

"I told you I'm not hungry," the younger man muttered, crossing his arms.

"Luffy, you're always hungry. Now shut up and eat!" Zoro demanded. Luffy hmph-ed and scooted away. Zoro ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Look, I was trying to be nice by coming over and seeing what was wrong with you. The least you could do is pay attention."

_Mood swing much? A half hour ago he was thrilled to see me._

"Look, if you're not gonna eat, I'll…" he left the sentence unfinished as he picked up a fry from the plate. Luffy turned just enough to see what he was doing. Zoro put the fry in his mouth and grinned triumphantly. "Mmm, that sure was good."

He never expected Luffy to jump on him.

Zoro's eyes bulged to the size of dinner plates as the lanky sat atop him while noisily devouring the food that had now been scattered across the floor. Actually, most of it had somehow landed safely on Zoro's chest. Whether that was good or bad had yet to be determined.

And so Luffy ate and ate and ate, making all kinds of orgasmic noises as he shoved fry after fry into his drooling mouth. He looked like he was in Heaven when his teeth meet the hamburger.

"Ooooooh, I haven't had something this good in hours!" Of course, Luffy said that just about every time he ate, but the way he moaned it did something strange to Zoro.

The boy finished and tears suddenly came to his eyes. He looked like a child who had just got caught with his hand buried deep in the cookie jar. Luffy stood, walked back over to the sofa, and sat down with his head in his hands.

While Zoro was busy formulating his escape plan, he heard the second strangest sound that night. The sound of sobbing. Completely dumbfounded, the green-haired scrambled to his feet. He hadn't signed up for this. He didn't know how to deal with this. Why the hell was Luffy crying so suddenly?

Deciding it best to not stick around, Zoro slowly tiptoed toward the door. People liked to be alone when they cried, right?

He gripped his hand around the doorknob, fully intent on leaving the boy alone. But then he called out to him.

"Zoro," Luffy said between sniffles, "Please don't go. Please stay here with me."

Hearing the sound of that pleading voice caused the green-haired man's heart to clench up. He felt his chest tighten as the teen's sobbing grew louder and louder. He let go of the knob and his feet automatically moved to the sofa. The man's instincts had taken over. Then, swallowed hard and summoned all his courage to do what came next.

He wrapped his arms around Luffy's shuddering frame.

**Tsuzuku…**

* * *

**Ending Omake**

Usopp: …and then he said my mom was a psycho! My mom's dead for crying out loud! (clings to Sanji)

Sanji: Calm down, I'm sure he didn't mean it. (pats shoulder)

Ice: Usoooopp-kun!! I came to apologize for-- (stares) Uh… s-sorry for interrupting.

Sanji: Get the hell out!!

Ice: Ahh!! (runs like crazy)

--back in the editing room--

Chopper: What happened? Did you find Usopp? Were you forgiven?

Ice: Chopper, I've seen things that need not be discussed right now. (rummages through closet)

Chopper: Ice-kun, are you okay?

Ice: Just tell the fans to review. I'm about to go on a very dangerous mission. Aha! Found it! (shows camera)

Chopper: Um… what are you going to do with a camera?

Ice: (fanboy mode) Get SanUso pictures, of course! You silly little tanuki!

Chopper: (thinking) He's going to die…


	3. Perk up Song

**Disclaimer**: If I won the lottery, would that be enough to buy One Piece? Would it?! No? Well, keep it! I'll always have my dream of OP yaoi/yuri! You can't sue me for those, Oda-sensei! -bows with the utmost respect- Terribly sorry about that…

**Summary**: Maybe the reason he's so happy and friendly is because he's scared of losing even a single friend. Truthfully, Luffy just can't stand being alone. But he never will be as long as Zoro's there. AU ZoLu.

**Warnings**: This is still ZoLu. I hope none of you expected that to change. And if you did, shame on you! Get out right now! Alright, you can stay.

Y'know, I actually planned on this story lasting at least until Ace got back. But I just got so many ideas that could make this so much longer. If I ever, and I mean _ever_, start loosing interest in this, I won't be mad if you guys take that time to and yell and scream for me to update. My muses do that a lot anyway…

By the way, this chapter mainly focuses on the other characters, but it has Zoro and Luffy in the beginning. Don't be sad, I'll try cramming as much ZoLu as I can in the next chapter to make up for it.

Yosh! This chapter goes out to Loreto W! Thanks for making me continue this! I'd also like to that Inumaru12 for getting to write ZoLu in the first place. Best little sister eva!! This wasn't even supposed to come out until Friday. I started yesterday and just got carried away! Without further interruption, I hope you guys enjoy.

* * *

**Perk-up Song**

When Luffy woke up the next morning, he found himself comfortably placed in his bed. Upon closer inspection, he realized he was in the same clothes as yesterday. The bouncy boy wasn't sure if that was a good or bad sign.

Zoro.

The first thing that popped into his head that morning. Without any regard for anything around him, he ran out of his room and into the hallway (tripping over various objects along the way) praying that Zoro was still around.

The raven-haired boy didn't know what he'd do with himself if the taller man had left during the night after he had begged him to stay.

Oh yeah, the begging. Luffy should probably apologize for that.

"Zoro?!" Luffy called desperately, fearing that he really had left and that he really was alone once again. No answer came. He felt his chest tighten. Tears welled up in his eyes.

_No! _He shook his head violently, wiping his watery obsidian orbs. _I won't cry anymore! Nii-chan wouldn't want me to!_

He raced into the living room. No one was on the couch either. Luffy's head sank and, strangely, so did his heart.

Saddened, Luffy continued into the room. At least he could watch television to take his mind off it, right? The lanky teen walked to the back of the sofa and flipped over, as he usually did on Saturday mornings.

He got a face full of hard warm sofa cushion. Except, if no one was sitting on the sofa, how could it be warm? It most certainly wasn't supposed to be hard either!

"L-luffy?" the green-haired man muttered groggily. "The hell're you doin'?" He rubbed his eyes and realized just how awkward their current position was.

The smaller teen was buried sideways in lower abdomen. Almost near his…

Luffy was thrown to the floor.

"Wh-what are you doing up this early?!" Zoro gasped, rubbing furiously at the spot Luffy's mouth had landed. Oh God… his drool was starting to drip downwards!

"Early? It's almost noon!" Luffy exclaimed normally. It's not like his best friend had just threw him from a couch or something homicidal like that. "And I thought you'd left. I'm glad you're still here," he added with a blush.

Zoro looked back towards the bedrooms and reached the possible conclusion that Luffy wasn't able to see him from his lying position on the couch. Truthfully, the groggy teen usually got up at six on Saturdays so he could head to the gym. Last night was just so hectic and weird, he stayed up hours longer than usual trying to make sense out of everything.

He'd held Luffy in his arms. Tightly and protectively until he fell asleep. In. His. Arms. But friends do that, right? They hold their friends when they broke down crying, right? Right?!

_Yeah, if your friend's a girl…_ His mind told him. Hopefully, the smaller boy would just forget and he'd be free to go home.

"Thanks for staying with me last night, Zoro," muttered Luffy.

_Crap!_

"But geez, that was so weird! I don't even know why I started crying!" the younger shouted, returning to his usual chipper persona. Zoro almost smiled. "I didn't think you'd go so far as to hold me, though…"

_Damn, he didn't tell me to hold him, did he? I seriously did something so stupid on my own? Dammit, Zoro, what the hell has gotten into you? Aw this is just perfect! What if he takes it the wrong way and starts thinking weird things? He might wanna do it more often and it'll be all my fault! I'm such an idiot! That was the worst possible thing to do!_ As he continued to berate himself, Luffy continued chattering on and on about various things. All of which held no relation to the thing that came after.

"But, seriously, thanks."

Zoro was snapped back to reality. He turned away from the boy instantly, stood walked over to the kitchen. There was nothing in the fridge that required simple preparation and Zoro wasn't in the mood to cook (again). He glanced over at Luffy, who was watching innocently, and instantly turned away, embarrassed for some reason.

"Zoro, I'm hungry!" Luffy whined. "Cook something for me!" The green-haired man winced at the command. "C'mon, hurry up! Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up, hurry up, hurry up!

"All right, damn!!" the older man exploded, a vein popping on his forehead. "Grab you coat and get in the car and I'll take us somewhere!"

"Yay!" Luffy sang, bouncing off to his room. "But we should go to your place first!" he grinned from the hallway.

"For what?" Zoro questioned absently, leaning against the fridge.

"So you can change!" the raven-haired boy chuckled, sticking his head back into the kitchen and holding his nose. "You stink!"

A piece of bread flew at him. He happily caught it in his mouth before heading off to his room.

"Brat," Zoro grumbled.

XXcHaRaCtErChAnGeXX

A little later in the afternoon, a tan-skinned man was calmly walking down the street near the park with a small animal held affectionately in his arms. The little furry creature peaked it's head up from its owners arms to view the world around it. The park was strange place for this particular animal to be. Heck, this animal was strange to even have as a pet!

"Hey, Usopp!" a loud feminine voice called from one of the benches. The long-nosed man looked around until his eyes set upon a smiling redhead in heels, an orange t-shirt and a miniskirt.

Standing next to her was a blonde man smoking a cigarette and a cheerful looking blue-haired girl.

"Oi, Nami!" Usopp yelled, running over to her. His new pet bounced up and down in his arms at the motion his master was making.

"It's been a long time since we've seen each other, Usopp-kun." the bluenette smiled.

"Vivi?!" he nearly choked. "When did you get here?"

"I told she was coming down here yesterday! Don't you listen when I talk!?" Nami said, scolding the man. He jumped back in fear of the woman.

"What the hell is that you're holding?" Sanji asked, removing the ciggy from his mouth. "A freakin' tanuki or somethin'? You gonna cook it?"

The animal's eyes widened and Usopp nearly choked.

"Aww, it's a reindeer!" Vivi gasped, marveling at the creature's cuteness. "Usopp-kun, where on Earth did you find him?"

"Well," the liar began, clearing his throat, "It was storming one night and, I, the brave Usopp-sama, was heading home when I heard the feeble cries of this poor, poor creature pleading to the Heaven's for someone to come and rescue it from its terrible, lonely, saddening, fearful torture. Luckily, I--"

"Just tell the truth, you dork," the blonde grumbled. Vivi chuckled in amusement and Nami sighed, shaking her head.

A faint blush crossed the long-nosed boy's cheeks as he cleared his throat. "Well, uh, when I went to Syrup Village last night, Dad took me to see Kaya and she gave him to me. She said he came all the way from Drum Island."

"No wonder he looks so soft and fluffy! Since that's a winter island, Father said it's perfect for raising reindeer!"

"What're you gonna call him?" Nami questioned.

Usopp pursed his lips in thought for a moment. "Umm, how about Chopper? I mean, look at his antlers! Yes, Tony Tony Chopper! A brave name from his brave owner!"

"Yeah, right," Sanji rolled his eyes. The tan-skinned man set the creature on the ground and stood on his tip-toes to meet the taller man's gaze.

"What about it?" Usopp asked gruffly, puffing out his chest. Sanji blew smoke in his face and the teen fell to the ground, flailing his arms sporadically. Nami laughed at the display while Vivi bent down to get a better look at Chopper.

"Hi there, Tony-kun," she said to the creature sweetly. The reindeer got a scared freaked-out look in his eyes and hid behind his owner.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you guys he gets nervous around strangers," Usopp managed to get out. Sanji chuckled at his display and helped him to his feet.

"So, Vivi, is there somewhere you'd like to go while you're in town?" Nami asked politely to the girl next to her.

"Well, I guess it wouldn't be a visit if I didn't see Luffy-kun or Mr. Bushido," the rich girl grinned.

"Knowing Zoro, he's probably asleep. Luffy's most likely at home with Ace-san though."

"Great, let's go see them!" Vivi announced.

"Those bastards. How dare they make someone as delicate and beautiful as Vivi-chan walk all the way to see them?!" Sanji grumbled, love-love persona kicking in. "Fear not! I'll gladly carry you wherever you want to go, Vivi-chwan!!"

She stared the large pink hearts that suddenly replaced his eyes and declined his oh-so generous offer. "So we're going to Luffy-kun's place?"

"Yep! It's not that far from here, actually," the redhead responded. She had a mental map of the city engraved in her memory and could spout off the best directions at any given moment.

"I guess I'll see you guys later then! I gotta go pick up some things for Chopper!" Usopp announced, already taking off in the opposite direction. The small reindeer followed wholeheartedly.

"It was nice seeing you, Usopp-kun, Tony-kun!!" Vivi shouted after then, cupping her hand around her mouth.

"But it was even nicer seeing me! Right, Vivi-chwan?!" Sanji exclaimed affectionately.

"Sometimes certain people should just stay seen," Nami sighed, pulling the man along by the collar. The girl with light blue hair smiled and went along with them.

**Tsuzuku…**

* * *

**Ending Omake**

Ice: It was a joke, I swear! You didn't have to tie me up! (sad face)

Sanji: You were trying to take pictures of us!!

Usopp: Have you no shame?

Ice: But… but you didn't have to have to smash my camera! That was expensive! And it's your fault for being so sexy in the first place!

Sanji: Think about that _before_ you spy on people! …and thank you, non-woman.

Ice: You're welcome, pervert. And at least I don't spy on girls in the bathhouse.

Usopp: Of course _you_ wouldn't…

Ice: Usopp, I'm crushed you'd say that (coughnotreallyjerkcough). Anyway, just untie these ropes! I said I was sorry!

Sanji: (tightens ropes)

--crash--

Usopp: What the heck was that?!

??: I'm hhheeerrreee!!

Usopp: Eh? Whose that girl with sake and playing cards?

Sanji: Sake? Playing cards? What the hell're you--

Ice: (gasps) Inu-chan! I'm save-ed!

Inu: Oh yeah, I'm awesome! (grins)


	4. Present Compensation

**Disclaimer**: Currently, all the money I have is being saved up to go towards buying a new Nintendo DS plus a few games. I really don't want to get into _why_ I need to buy a _new_ one, but this is the one time I'm going to set One Piece on the backburner…

**Summary**: Maybe the reason he's so happy and friendly is because he's scared of losing even a single friend. Truthfully, Luffy just can't stand being alone. But he never will be as long as Zoro's there. AU ZoLu.

**Warnings**: They won't change. Please see the previous chapters. If you read chapters one through three and didn't like those, why would this be any better?

Once again, I'd like to thank everyone who has bothered to review thus far. And for those who read and don't review, I wanna thank you guys as well for increasing this story's hit count. Aw man, I'm sorry guys. I got hit with some last minute inspiration and only managed to stick a little ZoLu in here. I implied other possible pairings though. Please stick around, it'll be worth it in the end, promise. Now, let's get started, shall we?

* * *

**Present Compensation**

Zoro looked into his wallet and held back what was almost recorded as a sigh. He looked up to the raven-haired boy who was mumbling how hungry he was. An annoyed scowl took over his features.

Luffy totally cleaned him out.

They had decided to dine in at Denny's and Luffy took it upon himself to order just about everything on the menu. Zoro had coffee. Simple as that. But was it that simple for Luffy? Noooooo! Now Zoro was broke and probably wouldn't have anymore beli until who knows how long.

A tiny white moth flew happily from the empty leather case. Zoro glared death at the insignificant creature.

XXpOoRlItTlEmOtHXX

"Zoro, I'm huuuuuungry!!" the boy in sandals whined. Right now the two teens were headed too… well, they weren't sure. But they knew they were going to a place… with stuff… and maybe meat.

"What the hell do you want me to do about it? I don't have anymore money left for you mooch off of, Luffy!" Zoro responded with a hint of crossness. Thank goodness for his emergency cash stashed behind the refrigerator. "Didn't you get enough at Denny's?"

"But that wasn't even enough to count as my pre-breakfast breakfast!"

What kind of monster was this boy?

About five minutes later, Zoro turned his car into the yard of a small, familiar-looking house. The house was painted brown with a small vegetable garden (mostly tomatoes) outside the front leading up to the porch. Parked outside was a beige pick-up truck with the paint peeling in a few areas.

"Why are we at Usopp's house?" Luffy questioned, forgetting he was supposed to be hungry. His stomach growled. So much for that.

_So I can dump you with him and get on with my life, _the green-haired man thought. Spending so much time with Luffy outside of school had caused him to question his friendship with the boy.

First he's happy.

Then he cries.

Now he's clingy.

Zoro didn't like this. It felt… weird. Especially the fact that he didn't really mind the clingy part.

He already had to spend eight hours with him. Any more than that would upset the delicate balance of the universe, right?

"Eight is enough!" the lawn head shouted, banging the wheel. Luffy raised and eyebrow, but laughed all the same.

"You didn't answer my question," the smaller teen smiled after calming down.

"Huh?" Zoro grunted uninterestedly.

"Why'd we come to Usopp's place?" Luffy repeated with a slow tone. Zoro felt insulted. How dare _Luffy_ of all people talk to him like a child!

"You like Usopp, don'cha?" the older man questioned. "Besides, I got stuff to do and figured you could hang with him instead."

"Oh…" Luffy responded flatly. He may not have been the smartest in the group, but it was painfully obvious what Zoro was doing.

That hurt.

"Guys? What're you doin' out here?" asked a surprised voice from behind them. Turning around, the two men in the truck saw a head of thick and curly dark hair and a long nose. By the person's legs was a timid little… was that a reindeer?

"Cool!!" the raven-haired teen exclaimed. He unbuckled his seatbelt and bounded out of the vehicle to greet his friend and newfound animal playmate. "When'd you get a tanuki?"

If reindeers could glare, this one suddenly was.

"He's not a tanuki and his name's Chopper," Usopp responded, feeling the animal's hostility. "Dad and I picked him up from Kaya last night." This time, he'd opted to tell the truth rather than recount his super cool action story. Shame, too. Luffy would've almost certainly believed him.

"Your friend Kaya was giving away free deer?!" the simple-minded youth shouted in disbelief. His dark eyes were huge with both shock and amazement.

"He's a reindeer!" Usopp countered.

"Same difference!"

"No, it's not!"

"How come?"

"If it didn't matter, the **rein** wouldn't be in front of the **deer**!"

"What?! This thing can bring rain _and_ save Christmas?!"

"Oi, oi!"

The two went back and forth with each other for what seemed like forever until a bored/annoyed voice managed to cut in between them.

"Anyway, I should get goin'," Zoro cut in with a lazy yawn. He really didn't want to be there any longer than necessary. "I told you I got a lot of stuff to take care of."

"Wait a minute, you shouldn't come to someone's house and then just leave!" shouted the long-nosed boy. "What would you have done if I was still with the others?"

"This is your house, right?" the driver asked lamely.

"Well, yeah, you can say that," Usopp replied.

"Then you should be here," stated the older man logically.

"That's not the same!" cried the other. Chopper was quite frightened at this point and took refuge behind his owner's leg, peeking his head (and just about the rest of his body) outwards in a curious fashion.

All the while Luffy tried to ignore the stinging pain he felt in his chest. He thought he was doing a good job at keeping Zoro entertained. If that were the case, why was he ditching him now? They were supposed to friends. They were supposed to count on each other.

A choked sniffle escaped the straw hat boy's throat.

"You okay?" the tan boy asked, turning away from his arguing buddy to check on him. The sound was more like a wheeze to Usopp's ears, so not much suspicion was raised.

Luffy forced a chuckle and smile, reassuring at least those two (err, three) everything was fine. "Zoro, you'll come pick me up, won't you?"

The green-haired man cursed to himself. He couldn't refuse the slightly pouting face the other had put on and grumbled a yes before pulling off.

"Oh, call my cell phone!" Usopp yelled after him. "I only came home to drop this little guy off! We're going to hang out with the others!"

XXiNsErTsOmEtHiNgHeReXX

As soon as he saw Nami and Sanji crowded around Vivi, Luffy completely forgot about what happened earlier and nearly tackled the poor blue-haired girl to the ground in pure excitement.

Sanji was not exactly pleased with this and Usopp had to hold him back.

"So where's Zoro?" Nami questioned the two who had arrived together.

"He said he had stuff to do. I'm willing to bet he had just wanted to sleep or something," the tan boy answered offhandedly.

The redhead's eyes lit up at the word bet, but she quickly controlled herself for the sake of the public.

Right now, everyone was stationed at a random clothing store in Loguetown Mall. It was named either Blue 25, Hue 12, or something along those lines. The group couldn't remember for the life of them and didn't care to check to huge sign placed outside the store.

As Vivi was finally able to free herself from Luffy's tight embrace, Usopp was also able to release Sanji (albeit five seconds longer than necessary) and they were at last able to get to shopping.

All in all, Nami purchased a total of seven tops and a couple of miniskirts (all at the blonde's expense), Vivi had simply bought a pair of red sunglasses (also covered by the blonde), and Usopp and Luffy spent their beli on massive amounts of candy found near the register. Sanji himself had managed to purchase one or two band tee's and a couple of assorted colored ties.

It was a little know fact that both his and Nami's families were extremely well off, but nowhere near as rich as Vivi's father, the head of an extremely powerful corporation in Alabasta. Usopp and his father, Yasopp, were happily situated at middle class, and Luffy and Ace really only needed money to feed themselves, so they were okay too. No one was really all that clear on Zoro's financial situation.

Ah great, why was it now that the energetic youth had to think of something like that of all times? He'd made him spend all his money on breakfast too. A feeling of remorse set itself in the pit of, ironically, Luffy's stomach.

Now he could understand why Zoro had gotten rid of him. There was no way he could support Luffy's eating habits. He went broke with just breakfast. Imagine two more meals.

The group reached the food court and Sanji danced off along with Usopp to gather food for their companions. This left Luffy alone with the girls who were currently chatting about which perfume was of higher quality.

_I know! I'll just ask these two. They'll tell me how I can make it up to Zoro!_ Luffy thought with a huge grin. He loved his sudden brainstorms and genius ideas.

"Yeah, but the Passion Fruit scent always stays on my clothes longer than I need it too," Nami responded to the bluenette's statement.

"But the scent always fades away when I use it," Vivi declared.

"Probably 'cause it's so hot in your country you don't even notice."

"Hmm, I guess you're right!" the rich girl smiled. "So, how's your sister?"

"Nojiko? She's--"

"What kind of gift do you get somewhere when you wanna say 'thank you' and 'sorry' at the same time?" asked the boy abruptly. The girls cut off their conversation to look at him.

"What do you mean, Luffy-kun? Are you trying to apologize to someone?" Vivi asked.

"Well, sorta…" he blushed, looking down. "It's kinda complicated."

Nami's lips twisted into a grin of pure, unbridled joy. With a fangirl squeal, she reached across the table and clasped Luffy's hands in her own.

"Oh my God, I've been waiting for this moment FOREVER!!" she exclaimed. The boy across looked at her with a puzzled expression. Vivi sweatdropped. "Flowers! You should definitely go with flowers!"

"But I don't think Zoro would--"

"It's Zoro?! Ooh, this is even better!!" she squealed louder. People were starting to stare.

"Um, Luffy-kun, what exactly are you trying to apologize for in the first place?" the rich girl asked curiously.

The raven-haired male shuffled nervously in his seat, trying to escape Nami's death grip, but answered nonetheless. "Well, Ace went to go look at colleges and won't be back 'til tomorrow night, so Zoro stayed with me all last night. He bought me breakfast too."

Nami had fun with the naughty images that popped into her evil red head.

"But I sorta spent all his cash 'cause I eat so much and I wanna make it up to him. I thought you guys might be able to help me."

"Of course we can help you! But it won't be cheap, y'know," Nami grinned, releasing her grip. Luffy wiggled his fingers to get the feeling back.

"Nami," Vivi warned, prodding the girl in the side. "We'll help you for free."

"Really!? Thanks guys!" Luffy exclaimed, bouncing around in his seat.

"Aw, you're no fun…" the redhead muttered sadly.

"Don't be like that," Vivi said soothingly "I'll make it up to you with something special I brought back from home. I'm still staying at your place, right?" the bluenette questioned. Nami snickered at the thought and turned to whisper something in the other girl's ear.

Luffy raised a curious eyebrow, but didn't worry too long. Now he'd finally be able to pay his best friend back for the nice things he'd done for him. Then maybe the other man would want to spend even more time with him. The young boy would be so happy if he and Zoro got to spend more time together outside of school. It was all a matter of time now, especially since Nami was willing to help. More importantly, Sanji and Usopp had just returned with the food.

"ITADAKIMASU!!"

**Tsuzuku…**

* * *

**Ending Omake**

Chopper: (on the phone) Yes, I'd like to make arrangements for a funeral. Yes ma'am, I'll hold.

Ice: Chopper, who are you talking too?

Chopper: Ahh! You survived? (hangs up phone) Who's that girl?

Inu: Hi Chopper-chan! My name's Inumaru! (huggle)

Chopper: (strained breathing) Why are you wearing Sanji's tie?

Inu: (devious smirk)

Ice: Look! I got these neat goggles too! (plays with Usopp's goggles)

Chopper: (confused) But… but how did…?

Inu: Let's just say some things happened that you're too young to understand. Some very _adult_ things.

Ice: You got the pictures, right?

Inu: Of course! Who'd have thought Sanji was so flexible? Well, he kinda has to be to do all those kicks. X3

Ice: And I learned that Usopp's nose isn't compensation (smile).

Chopper: (thinking, frightened) Just who are these people?

--elsewhere--

Usopp: Sanji… I think I've been violated…

Sanji: (drunkenly) You are one _pretty _woman…


	5. Shattered Sentiment

**Disclaimer**: I. Don't. Own. This. Series.

**Summary**: Maybe the reason he's so happy and friendly is because he's scared of losing even a single friend. Truthfully, Luffy just can't stand being alone. But he never will be as long as Zoro's there. AU ZoLu.

**Warnings**: Yaoi, boyxboy love, Luffy fan service, Zoro in extreme denial, sad ending, and Nami. Oh yes, plenty of Nami for all your Sanji needs.

Kyaaa, thanks for the reviews guys! They make me so happy and it looks like this story is starting to become more and more popular with each chapter! I won't lie, I tons of fun writing this particular chapter, especially the mall scene. Fret not loyal fans, the ZoLu fluf comes in either the next chapter or the one following so please don't give up hope! And Zoro is now left alone with his thoughts for long periods of time. Oh joy.

* * *

**Shattered Sentiment**

Those who knew Roronoa Zoro and knew him well could easily tell he wasn't a very open individual. If you asked him a question that wasn't yes or no, he'd usually grunt and tell you to do what ever you wanted. He also wasn't the kind of guy to care what others thought. Zoro was Zoro no matter where he was or who he was with. If he wanted to nap instead of play frisbee, then dammit, Zoro was gonna nap!

But he couldn't nap. Every time he closed his eyes and attempted to drift off to the world of slumber, Zoro would hear that laugh. See that face. Smell that fragrance. Feel that skin…

It wasn't just any random laugh, face, scent, or skin. They all belonged to one Monkey D. Luffy. Zoro didn't like this. That's not to say he didn't like Luffy. Heck, the little guy was so persistent with everything that he did it was exceedingly hard not to like him. Some people did, though. But Zoro wasn't one of them.

To be perfectly honest, Luffy was confusing Zoro and causing him to gently ease away from his comfort zone. He hadn't had any real friends before he bumped into the weird youth while Luffy was a starting freshmen. At the time, Zoro was a sophomore and was only slightly acquainted with two guys named Johnny and Yosaku. They were more like a mini fan club than friends, but Zoro let them hang around every so often.

Recently, he'd just found himself thinking of Luffy more and more. It made him angry to think of his first true friend that way. Luffy was the first to openly extend the hand of friendship and he returns it by developing, ugh, feelings? That most certainly was not the Roronoa Zoro way.

So logically if he distanced himself from the boy for an extended period time, all those 'feelings' would disappear, wouldn't they? Of course, this meant he'd have to avoid the others as well seeing as how one of the Straw Hats (the name Luffy had so vibrantly named their little group) always led to their quote/unquote 'captain'. And if Luffy was captain, Zoro was without a doubt the first mate.

Day by day his feelings for the boy grew along with his own self-hatred for allowing himself to fell that way. It was an unspoken rule that Luffy counted on Zoro whenever Ace was not available and how he could he be ready to help his _friend_ (he couldn't stress that enough) when he was constantly thinking about if the boy tasted like the meat he loved so much?

Zoro would never admit to liking him either. He didn't even consider it that. To Zoro, these were feelings were nothing more than absolute trust and devotion. He'd only felt such intense sensations twice in his entire lifetime. Now with Luffy, and before with… he didn't even want to remember her name. It hurt to think about it.

One thing was clear at this point. Roronoa Zoro could never have these feelings again. The price was much too high.

XXfAlCoNsCeNeChAnGeXX

Maybe having Nami assist in the gift giving department wasn't exactly Luffy's best idea. Though the redhead was quite helpful (forceful), she seemed to be taking this little project a bit too seriously. Already they had gone to three stores, one of them being Vivi's Enigma.

(Yes, Vivi's father had opened up a chain of lingerie stores in his daughter's name. No, Vivi did not regularly shop there, much to Sanji's dismay.)

Thankfully, they had only gone in there for Nami's own benefit. When she found out that Vivi could get anything from that particular store for free, she jumped at the chance.

Skipping around a bit found the five Straw Hats in the dressing room of a KT Nickel's assisting Luffy with the next outfit that the blue-haired girl had taken the liberty of picking out for him.

"I dunno, I just don't think this outfit suits him," Sanji mumbled in thought. "Something like that would look much better me, though."

"Why're we getting clothes for Luffy anyway?" asked Usopp. "I thought we were supposed to be helping him get an apology gift for Zoro."

"Would you two shut up?" Nami scolded, shushing them. "Everyone knows when you give a gift to someone, it's important to make yourself look good at the same time!" She completed the thought by placing a hand on her hip and winking suggestively.

"Of course, Nami-san is wonderful especially when she schemes!" the blonde fawned, moving his arms cutely as the girl in question merely giggled.

"Guys, I don't think I like this outfit. It's too fancy," Luffy whined to let the others know he was still present. The raven-haired boy groaned and tugged the choking black collar of the tuxedo Vivi had placed him in.

She had also taken the liberty to provide him with a matching top hat, polished black shoes, a white mask to cover his eyes, a cane, a rose, and a black cape. The cape was for her own secret pleasures.

"Can I please get out of this?" he begged.

"He sorta looks like Tuxedo Mask," Usopp stated thoughtfully.

"Tuxedo who?" the cook questioned, raising his curly eyebrow.

"Y'know, the guy from that one anime who went around throwing roses at people," explained the tan-skinned boy.

Sanji thought for a moment. "You're making stuff up."

"I am not!" Usopp choked.

Vivi broke the two apart in order to get a better look at Tuxedo Luffy. She tilted her head slightly, stuck out her tongue, and positioned her fingers to resemble a picture frame. Perhaps it would've looked better if Luffy actually tried to smile in the dressy attire.

"I don't see what's wrong," the bluenette stated finally. "In my opinion, you look absolutely stunning, Luffy-kun."

"Well," the boy began nervously, "I don't really like it that much. Isn't the whole point for it to be something for both me and Zoro to agree on?"

The group was stunned, mouth agape at the accuracy of Luffy's logic. Nami was the first to recover.

"You're absolutely right! Come with me, I know the perfect store!"

And before he could protest, Luffy was (figuratively) ripped out the tuxedo and dragged away with Vivi and Sanji right behind. Usopp sighed and picked up Luffy's regular clothes before following.

Imagine how embarrassing it must be to run around the mall clad only in red monkey boxers.

XXsLaVeAnDmAsTeRXX

"NO!" Luffy cried the moment he put on the outfit.

"Oh come one, Luffy! Let me at least see!" Nami begged from the other side of the door. "It can't be that bad."

"No! This outfit is even tighter than the suit! I can hardly breath!" the shopping victim groaned. "What made you think Zoro would like this?"

"Sanji-kun!" the redhead sang sweetly.

"Hai, Nami-swaaaan!" the man replied, kicking down the dressing room door. Someone was going to have to pay for that if they weren't kicked out first.

The jaws of Vivi and Usopp literally hit the ground with a loud plop. There was Luffy, shifting uncomfortably around before them.

Only this time he was trapped in tight revealing black leather that led nothing to the imagination. The shiny black leather pants hugged, no, _squeezed_ his thighs even more firmly than a bear trap. His shirt, if you'd call it that, stopped several inches above his navel to reveal his pale abdomen. He tried to walk, but hardly got anywhere with those heavy boots and didn't even _know _what the whip was for!

"Scary thing is Marimo might actually like this freaky, kinky crap," Sanji muttered.

"Like you're one to talk," Usopp rolled his eyes.

"Vivi, may I borrow a tissue?" Nami asked, tilting her head backwards to stop the oncoming nosebleed.

XXnEkOmImIkItTyXX

This time Luffy wasn't even dressed! Nami just threw a pair of cat claws, ears, a bell, collar, and a tail at him and told him to strip out of everything besides his boxers.

"Why do we even have a store like this?" the boys groaned.

Truly, this entire shopping adventure was full of Kodak moments. Nami and, shockingly Vivi, took full advantage.

XXFaNsErViCeXX

Six more embarrassing outfits later found the gang standing outside an arts and craft store. Luffy sighed as he leaned against the wall and slumped to the floor.

"Thanks for all the help guys," he began.

"No, thank you!" Nami cut in. "By the way, that'll be 300 beli for my services. I gave you a discount for the photos."

"But I just don't think changing my clothes will make Zoro forgive me. What was with that last outfit with the sailor skirt anyway?"

"That one was for me!" Vivi chuckled innocently.

"Next time, let me be the model, Vivi-chwan!" Sanji exclaimed. Nami pushed him aside.

"We could always just try another store. What time is it anyway?" the tan teen asked, reaching into his pocket to see that he had seven missed calls and one new voicemail. Checking it quickly, he confirmed that the calls were from Zoro and his dad, the former of which leaving the voicemail to inform him that he was on his way to pick up Luffy.

"Aw crap! I still don't have anything!" Luffy panicked, tugging his hair. It was actually out of character to see him worry over something as seemingly small as this. _It's like I'm trying to get him to go out with me._ He blushed at the thought, realizing that it wasn't too far from the truth.

"Just hurry and pick up something. That shithead's bound to like whatever you give him anyway," Sanji grumbled. He was getting upset now. The beautiful ladies weren't even paying him any attention anymore, reducing his reason for being there by 38.5 percent.

Luffy looked up, realizing that the blonde was probably right and that he should just go with his gut (although that's what got him in trouble in the first place). Standing up, he looked into the crafts store with full on determination.

And then he saw it.

"That's it!"

XXsAmUrAiSoUlXX

Where was he? Luffy was supposed to be out there ten minutes ago. Now Zoro had to wait in the parking lot with absolutely nothing to do besides listen to the radio.

"Ugh, where's that little pain in the ass?" the man asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. Glancing into the rearview mirror seemed to be the answer his prayers as the Straw Hat kid basically bounced towards him with the others trailing behind.

"ZOOOROOO!!" Luffy sang and he jumped beside the driver's door of the car. "Get out, get out! I wanna show you something!"

Zoro rolled his eyes and stepped out of his car, ready to just get this whole night over with. Why did he agree to come pick Luffy up again? He could've just as easily hitched a ride with one of the others.

"What is it?" the green-haired man groaned, expecting something extravagantly childlike that Luffy had purchased for himself.

The smaller boy's grin never faded as he pulled a small gift bag from behind his back with store's insignia designed on the front.

"It's for you!" Luffy announced, pushing the bag into the other man's arms.

This confused Zoro. Why would Luffy take the time to get him something? Guys didn't normally shop for other guys unless it was their birthdays or Christmas. Since Luffy's birthday had came and gone two months ago, and Zoro's wasn't for another four, he quickly surmised that it had to be a Christmas gift.

But Zoro's birthday was the month before Christmas, so that idea was quickly discarded.

"I wanted to thank you for keeping me company while Ace was gone and to say sorry for using all your money on food earlier today! Oh, and I didn't wanna be a bother either! I know earlier you were trying to get rid of me, so…"

_Crap, he caught me._ Zoro thought. Deciding to just get this whole thing over with, he sighed and opened the bag up to reveal a light green haramaki to wear around his waist.

"I figured you'd like it," Luffy blushed, looking away. "It reminded me of your hair. I really like your hair. It's… different."

_Oh God, why is he blushing? Did he really buy this for me!? Dammit, what should I do? It'd break his heart not to accept this and plus I'd look like a total idiot if I did! Wait. Why should care about how he feels?_

Using his self-control, Luffy forced his blush away and looked Zoro right in the eyes. Absolutely nothing could wipe away the hopeful look in his eye. The others watched on, crossing their fingers and hoped the plan worked.

Watching that expression, that cheery, optimistic expression, caused Zoro's stomach to lurch at what he did next.

"Luffy, I can't accept this." Total silence. Time stood still. "The thought was nice, and I really appreciate the idea, but I just can't take any of this anymore."

The smaller boy's mouth resembled that of a fish as he was placed in utter confusion. With those words, all his hopes were dashed.

Zoro couldn't stand it. He couldn't stand the dejected look on the boy's face where pure happiness had just occupied. He turned away and got back in his car. He just couldn't admit to liking Luffy yet. If the result was the same as with her, he'd never forgive himself.

"Zoro!" Nami called out.

But it was too late. The green-haired man slowly drove off, the haramaki gently slipping from Luffy's hands. Luffy stood there in shock for a moment. And then…

… a single tear rolled down his face.

**Tsuzuku…**

* * *

**Ending Omake**

Ace: (crashes into editing room) Where the hell is he!?

Ice: Ace? Why are you here? You're not scheduled to show up until next chapter!

Ace: Do I look like I care? Where's the asshole who broke my brother's heart? (creates fireball)

Ice: Um… Ace this is an AU High School fic, so you really shouldn't have your-- (dodges flame) I don't know where he is, don't hurt me!!

Ace: I swear, when I find him, I'm going to… I'll…! (sets desk on fire)

Ice: (whimpers then hides)

Chopper: Ah! Ace-san is on the war path!

Ace: Zzzzz…

Ice: How can he just go to sleep?! (grabs fire extinguisher) Aw, this'll take forever to clean up…

Chopper: You should get to work then. (inches away)

Ice: You're helping too!


	6. Boiling Point

**Disclaimer**: I don't think babysitting would pay enough in one weekend to give me the rights to this series. How sad is that? Very.

**Summary**: Maybe the reason he's so happy and friendly is because he's scared of losing even a single friend. Truthfully, Luffy just can't stand being alone. But he never will be as long as Zoro's there. AU ZoLu.

**Warnings**: Ace returns, Zoro gets his comeuppance, and there may or may not be fluff depending on how you look at it. And of course, implied/open/whatever BL.

OMG, what does the stats chart say about the number of hits on this story?

Rikki: Stop. Before this joke goes any further, just know that this story has reached over 1000 views and the author is very happy for that.

Icebender: Rikki? What are you doing here? Muses don't get to speak!

Rikki: (pulls out whip)

Icebender: You never let me have any fun!

Rikki: Just get on with the story before everyone gets even more annoyed for having to wait!

Icebender: H-hai!

* * *

**Boiling Point**

That following Sunday, Luffy did not once leave his bedroom. All afternoon, the upset dark-haired boy merely sat on his bed with his head drawn to his knees as he stared longingly to the white walls before him.

There had to be a way for him to fix this. He wanted nothing more to fix things between himself and Zoro. Luffy was convinced that it was no one's fault but his own. Looking deep down, he knew it just wouldn't be right to blame Zoro.

If there was a way to fix this, it hid itself from Luffy's sight.

He sat there thinking. He came up with nothing. He refused to move until he did.

Not even Ace's return at around 8 pm that evening caused him to so much as budge.

XXaTtAcKaCeXX

To say that the freckled pyromaniac was worried would be a vast understatement. Luffy hadn't been this quiet and unresponsive since their grandfather had taken them away from their parents after deeming them 'unfit' to raise children.

Luckily, when Ace turned 18 he was able to take full custody of his younger brother and they hadn't heard from the horrible man (or their parents) since.

Being the concerned and caring sibling that he was, Ace quietly crept into Luffy's room to check up on him, thinking he had only been sleeping. But once his big brother instincts kicked in he could immediately tell that something was wrong. Luffy wouldn't talk at first, but after an hour of begging and pleading the younger boy finally opened his mouth and recited the events of that weekend to his elder brother.

Naturally, Ace was furious that some lawn-headed moron had been so insensitive to his younger brother's feelings. No, furious was not the word. Ace was pissed! He was livid! Even if Zoro didn't have feelings for his brother, he had always assumed the green-haired man was mature enough to handle in a way that wouldn't leave his brother shattered.

So in response, Ace spent the entire chemistry class Monday glaring daggers at Zoro without even bothering to give the man a reason for his sudden unbridled hatred for the other. For a second, Zoro fought the urge to glare right back. Then he realized that Luffy had probably told Ace what had happened and the freckled teen now had a valid reason for hating him. Zoro let Ace glare to his heart's content (or until the bell rang for next period).

Ace wasn't the only one glaring, however. On his way to History class, Zoro had bumped into Sanji. Usually, he would stand back just far enough to trail the man, but not close enough to make it look like he was following him. The two shared that class, along with Nami, and it was an unspoken rule that Zoro would trail the blonde man to get there on time and avoide getting lost in the sea of people.

Today, Sanji thought it would be funny to lead him all around the school and lose him in a crowd of students. About twenty minutes later, Zoro arrived in class only to be given detention for what was considered skipping. Deciding he should do something to end this soon, Zoro bided his time until lunch hoping he could set things straight.

He was finally ready to tell Luffy everything he had been feeling up to that point.

XXzOrOaTgUnPoInTXX

"What you did was unforgivable!"

"How could you do something like that to him?"

"Shitty marimo."

"You're the worst of the worst!" A pause. "Please don't hurt me!"

A green eyebrow twitched as Zoro found that his friends wouldn't let him anywhere near their standard lunch table. He swore under his breath. Now it would be even harder to make up with Luffy.

"Where do you think you're going?" Nami questioned, moving aside so he couldn't get past her. Zoro contemplated just shoving her away. "You've done enough, haven't you?" Her eyes pierced him. Zoro had no idea she could get this riled up for something that didn't involve money.

Thinking to take a different route, he ran right into Sanji. "Even if I don't get this, as long as Nami-san's angry with you, I will be too. Not like I need that as an excuse though, Marimo."

"Damn it, shouldn't you be working in the cafeteria!?" Zoro growled.

"That's only Friday's and you know it!" Sanji retorted.

"Don't try changing the subject! You know what you've done!" Vivi declared.

"Why are you even at this school? Didn't you go home!?" grumbled the green-haired man.

"Vivi's told us last night that her father had her enrolled here until the end of the semester. If you hadn't been so busy crushing Luffy's feelings, you'd have known that!" the girl with mikan-colored hair answered, folding her arms over her chest.

Next, Zoro looked to Usopp. Other than Nami, he was the more sensible one in the group and probably second smartest too. His hopes were dashed when the long-nosed boy looked away, muttering something like, "You should be better than that."

He was becoming frustrated! Luffy was sitting just a few feet away not even trying to stop them! Couldn't he tell that he was sorry? That he wouldn't have even said those things if he knew they would've had this bad an effect on him? Maybe it was just too late now. Zoro had made his bed and now he had to lie in it, despite all the uncomfortable lumps and hard mattress.

Biting his lip, he cried out. This was his last resort. "Luffy, just talk to me! I really need to tell you some stuff!" He didn't move. "Come on! This whole thing is stupid! Quit being stubborn and listen to me!"

"Oh, so he's the one stubborn now!?" Nami yelled, positively furious. Vivi placed a hand on her shoulder. "Argh! He was trying to thank you and all you could do was pull some childish macho act and shove it back in his face!"

"N-nami-san?" the blonde stammered, surprised by her sudden temperament.

"Geez, I need a break!" she shouted, seething. "Sanji-kun, bring me something to drink! As for you, Zoro," she paused, meeting his gaze with her cat-like eyes, "You owe me 350 beli plus an extra 50 for making me mad!"

Zoro ruined everything.

The would-be bushido stood there astonished. Sanji complied right away and brought back a some lemonade from a drink machine and the group headed off. Nami urged Luffy to follow.

Luffy ruined everything.

He couldn't believe he hadn't stepped in to defend him. Zoro was supposed to be his best friend no matter what.

"W-wait! Zoro, I'll--"

It was too late then.

XXfIrEfIsTaCeXX

The rest of the day went by in a blur for Zoro. He was too ashamed to do much of anything. Even the detention he had just sat through had seemed inconsequential. Zoro just wanted to go home and forget about this hellish event called 'High School Drama'.

And leave it to Ace to make sure that wouldn't happen.

"What're you doing?" Zoro asked gruffly. The two were outside in the parking lot. Ace was leaning against Zoro's car.

"What's it look like? I'm waiting for you," he coolly replied. The black-haired teen took his hands from his pockets and slowly walked towards the other teen. "So, I think we know by now that Luffy has feelings for you."

Zoro flinched at the word. Where would this lead to?

"I'm not sure he's even realized it yet," Ace continued. "But obviously, you have! Don't you think you could've handled that better?"

"And just what the hell do you know? You weren't even there!" the other remarked. "Try putting yourself in my shoes! What would you have done? Besides, I tried talking, but I couldn't even get near him 'cause of the others!"

"Quit blaming everyone else!" the freckled man barked. "Everyday Luffy always comes home and says 'Today Zoro did this. Tomorrow we can do that!' and he always looks so happy when he talks about you. How can you call yourself his best friend if you betrayed him like that?!"

Zoro could tell the other teen's anger was starting to build up. He could feel it radiating off of him like some sort of freaky heat wave. Ace was _never_ pleasant when angry and was always angriest when something had negatively affected Luffy.

"I didn't betray anyone!" Zoro yelled in defense. His temper was becoming equally as heated. If neither calmed down soon…

"He trusted you to stay with him when I left! How could you not notice that Luffy's always happiest when he's with you?" Ace spat. "I won't forgive anyone who hurts my little brother."

As the infuriated Nii-chan stood there seething, Zoro couldn't find a single flaw with his logic. Luffy trusted Zoro. It was as simple as that. Zoro refused to let himself get close to anyone after the last incident, thus he wound up hurting Luffy. He wanted to crawl under a rock. It seemed that everyone he cared for met only with misfortune.

He could at least share some the pain Luffy had endured. For his sake, if nothing else.

"Fine," the verdant-haired man mumbled, lowering his head. "Do what you want. I know I deserve it in the first place for hurting him."

Ace didn't need to be told twice. In one swift motion he had his fist attached to Zoro's jaw, sending the man spiraling to the cement below.

Obsidian eyes widened in the distance.

The punch didn't just sting like a normal one. The blow Ace had dealt him seemed to burn with sharp intensity. His jaw turned a deep shade of crimson and Zoro could swear he felt it sizzling.

There was a reason he was called Fire Fist Ace. Donning a detestable expression, Ace stalked towards the man on the ground and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. Zoro didn't try and pull away. Instead, he looked the other in the eye, ready to accept any and all punishment the elder D would give to him. He only wished Luffy knew what he felt. Ace reeled his fist back, preparing for another punch. Zoro did not flinch. This would be his atonement.

He deserved this.

Only he was to blame.

Luffy was not at fault.

"NII-CHAN! DON'T HURT ZORO ANYMORE! PLEASE, STOP IT!"

In a flash, Luffy jumped over the school gates (probably looking for Ace) and ran towards the two struggling students. Without thinking, he tore his brother's arms away and wrapped himself protectively around Zoro.

"Don't hurt him anymore. Please, Nii-chan," Luffy begged, his voice high and demanding as his grip on Zoro became that much tighter. "If you're gonna hurt him, then…" he bit his lip, sticking with his decision, "You should hurt me too!"

**Tsuzuku…**

* * *

**Ending Omake**

--silence--

Chopper: What's the matter Ice-kun? You're not usually this quiet.

Usopp: Shh! If we're lucky, he'll stay that way until the omake's over.

Chopper: But what if he's broken?! Should we get a doctor?! (panic)

Usopp: Somehow, I don't think that's the case…

Luffy: Hey guys, what's up?

Usopp: Luffy?! Where'd you come from?

Luffy: This guy asked me to show up (points to Icebender). Is he dead? I think he's dead. Chopper, do something!

Chopper: Like what?! I've never dealt with dead people before! Well, except Brooke...

--elsewhere--

Brooke: Skull joke! Yohoho!

--back with the gang--

Usopp: Oi, oi, I think you're looking at this the wrong way. Hey! Are you listening to me?!

Luffy: I think the dead guy's more important (pokes Icebender).

Icebender: AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

--Chopper, Usopp, and Luffy jump away in fear--

Usopp: What the hell's wrong with you?!

Chopper: Are you hurt?!

Luffy: Cool! He's a zombie!

Ice: Just now… Luffy-chan touched me!! (faints)

Usopp: Cut that out!


	7. Barred Background

**Disclaimer**: All the money I had saved up throughout the course of the whole summer lost half of its value in a single day. That's so funny I could cry… I'll never own One Piece now!

**Summary**: Maybe the reason he's so happy and friendly is because he's scared of losing even a single friend. Truthfully, Luffy just can't stand being alone. But he never will be as long as Zoro's there. AU ZoLu.

**Warnings**: Yaoi, BL, shonen-ai, the usual. If more pop up, I'll list it later. Aha, a character death in the form of a flashback. You should know who if you followed Zoro's story in the series.

OP Channel!! Oha OP!! Yayz, I can't believe that I'm on the seventh chapter of my seventh story! If only I had posted yesterday, then I would've had triple sevens XD For those who don't know, I started school on Wednesday. It was great meeting up with all my friends again! Also, thank episode 40 of Shugo Chara! for getting me back into the writing spirit! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in over a week! Let's get the ball rolling with this brand new chapter! Ba-ba-ba-baaaa!

* * *

**Barred Background**

Ace was at a crosswords. The elder of the D. brothers was torn between repeatedly attacking one of the few people with the power to make his brother cry and turning into one of those people himself. Let's see… if he hit Zoro, he'd feel a whole lot better. On the other hand, Luffy would direct his anger toward him. What's a nii-chan to do?

As for the green-haired man? His entire body had tensed up the moment he felt Luffy's arms encircle his waist. What the hell was he doing?! Zoro basically ditched and humiliated him in front of all their other friends, yet Luffy was still willing to defend him? Something was seriously wrong with that boy. He forgave too easily.

But that was one of the things Zoro admired.

Luffy did not flinch nor did he make any attempts of backing down. Even if it were his own brother he went up against, no one would ever be allowed to hurt Zoro (or any of his nakama, for that matter) as long as he was around to do something about it. What Ace said before had been true. Luffy didn't understand his true feelings. But that didn't mean he was going to neglect them. Unlike Zoro, he was more than willing to embrace and accept them. If he were yelled at, disregarded, or hated, he wouldn't change any of it so long as he won Zoro over in the end.

Seeing the unflinching determination in his little brother's eyes, Ace's scornful look was replaced by one of sorrow and regret. He lowered his arms and turned his back on the two. Zoro was still caught in Luffy's grip and desperately wanted to get away. He wasn't used to physical contact. But this, it almost felt… nice. It'd be even nicer if he hadn't been threatened just a while ago, but beggars can't be choosers.

"If you ever hurt him again, I'll come back for you, Roronoa," Ace seethed through gritted teeth. It was the pierced man's turn to scowl. "Let's go, Luffy."

Glancing up at the man trapped in his arms, the younger D. blushed before slowly releasing his grip. His lanky feet dragged as he trudged over to his brother. "Sorry, Zoro," he lowly mumbled. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

The green-haired man almost gasped_. Luffy wanted_ to see him again? Him of all people?

"Y-yeah… see you tomorrow." He had spoken without thinking, finally relaxing into his usual lazy posture.

With one more hostile glance, Ace grabbed his brother's arm and gently pulled him out of the school's parking lot.

Once again, Zoro needed time alone to process what had happened.

XXsAnToRyUugYmXX

As Zoro sat at the weight bench lifting iron bars several times his own mass, he blushed at the thought of Luffy's protective arms once again winding around his waist. Forcing it away, he told himself he had to remain calm. The gym was a public place, after all.

Speaking of which, there didn't seem to be many people there today. Probably because it was Monday or some other reason of the sort. The would-be bushido needed to think. Plus he had put off working out for a while, so this was the perfect excuse to go to the gym.

Setting the humongous training objects down, the green-haired senior wiped sweat from his brow and headed towards the back for a drink of water. He just couldn't get into it today. So many things had happened that made going by his normal schedule foolish. It seemed that all his friends had now come to resent him. Save for Luffy. He was a little touched, but at the same time wondered how someone could be so selfless. He was both thankful and confused by Luffy's complex simplicity.

Zoro swore it had only been a second since he looked down, but the moment he did, he had bumped straight into a slender woman wearing dark pink glasses and with hair so blue it could almost be considered black. The woman yelped in surprise as her spectacles flew to the floor.

The sight of her made Zoro fill with emotions akin to anger and aggravation.

"Oh my," she mumbled, more to herself than anyone else. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been standing there. Are you alright?" Reaching around haphazardly on the floor, the woman finally found the pair of glasses she was looking for and stuck them in their rightful position on her face. "Ah! Roronoa Zoro-kun! You haven't been here in a while."

Zoro _hated_ this woman. Without even trying or knowing anything about it, she brought up so many painful memories of his past. Things he had been struggling to forget. Would it be so wrong to threaten her into receiving plastic surgery? Although, there were probably very severe consequences for threatening the vice principal of your high school.

"Damn you! Stop looking like that!" Zoro yelled before thinking of anything else. Tashigi sighed. Every time they met, something like this would happen.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I don't know what you're talking about before you understand?" the dark blue-haired woman responded.

"That hair, those eyes, that face! How the hell do you look like her without being related to her!?" Zoro growled.

Tashigi just stared at him in confusion and annoyance. She'd worked too hard alongside Smoker, the principal, to just be treated like this by one of her own students.

A new swirl of emotions whirled inside Zoro's chest. Turning around, he slung his gym bag over his shoulder, muttered something rude to the woman under his breath, and stormed to his car to head home.

Tashigi could never compare to Kuina. Not even if they _were_ related in some twisted way.

He had killed the aspiring fighter several years ago.

XXtHeJoYsOfHoMeWoRkXX

Luffy lay down on his bed, biology textbook in hand, and looked down at the worksheet below him. He wasn't actually _doing_ the work, but he had to at least look like it for those random times Ace would check in on him.

Speaking of Ace, the freckled man had calmed down sometime ago and was busy rummaging through the cabinets for something spicy to cook.

_If I could just think straight for a minute,_Luffy sighed, his thoughts whirling uncontrollably in his pretty raven head. _Maybe I can understand why I fell like this. I do like Zoro as more than a friend. But does that mean I want a relationship with him? Argh, this is too confusing!_

In his frustration, he tossed the biology text at the wall. Ace took that moment to pop his head into the doorway with a mouth full of that weird new Fire Flakes cereal.

"What's up with you? I'm not paying if you ruin your book," he said in a muffled voice, spitting bits of the cereal to the floor. Luffy sat up on he bed and twiddled his thumbs, debating if he should tell him or not. He was his brother… but after today's performance, it was quite obvious that Ace disliked the green-haired man.

But Luffy figured, 'what the heck?' It's not like he was looking to get his mind changed or anything. Just a little clarity would suffice.

"Nii-chan, I'm confused…" the red-vested boy finally mumbled. It took a second to comprehend his words. Once he did, it took all his strength to hold back a scowl.

"It's about Zoro, isn't it?" he concluded, trying to hide any signs of malice in his voice. Somehow, he was able to succeed.

"It's just…" Luffy began, fumbling with his hair, "I'm not really sure what it is. I like Zoro a whole lot and I wanna spend time with a whole lot too. But sometimes… sometimes I have this urge to just reach out and squeeze him to death. I even thought about kissing him once (or twice)." That last part was mumbled. "Nii-chan, is something… wrong with me?"

Luffy's big obsidian eyes that were usually filled with such bubbly brightness was overshadowed by a huge pang of guilt and fear. What if something really was wrong with him? That would surely explain why Zoro was treating him so coldly as of late. Yes! Something was wrong with him! He had a serious problem and Zoro didn't want anything to do with him. It made perfect sense now!

"There is _**nothing **_wrong with you, little brother!" Ace's voice suddenly shouted. "I don't ever want to hear you tell yourself that, do you hear me?"

Luffy looked away and lowered his head in shame. He heard footsteps coming towards him and was soon wrapped into a warm embrace.

"You're fine the way you are," Ace sighed, his chin resting on Luffy's shoulder. "I don't care if you have feelings for that lawn-headed idiot. I do want to know one thing, though."

"What's that?" the younger questioned, almost afraid of what the response might be.

"Do you… love him?"

XXnOwAfLaShBaCkXX

_It was the summer before he was set to enter high school. Roronoa Zoro was happier than he had ever been in his life. He had passed all his classes with C's or higher and had the world's greatest girl by his side. She wasn't like regular girls either. She spoke her mind no matter what and could prove her strength to any boy. Looking back on things, Zoro thought of how funny it was that the only reason they had started dating was because she had beaten him in their school's kendo tournament._

_Kuina had a passionate personality about everything she did. Always strived to be the best kendo fighter in the school. Zoro was automatically drawn to her commanding aura._

_They had sparred against each other several times and Zoro never won once. He found it strangely exciting! If anyone was a worthy opponent for him, it was this girl whom he could never seem to out maneuver._

_She had a certain grace about her whenever she took a fighting stance. Even if her techniques could've been fatal or even deadly in the hands of a real katana._

_Slowly, but, surely, Zoro grew to love this girl._

_It was a few weeks after school had let out that the accident happened. _

_The two were walking hand-in-hand to their usual dojo for practice. As usual, things went off without a hitch and the sensei praised them for all their hard work and past achievements._

_After practice that day, the students were supposed to have party to celebrate Kuina's most recent victory. With eyes kinder than most men his age, their sensei asked for Zoro to run down into the storage and grab the supplies._

_Grumbling, the young moss head replied that he didn't feel like it and arrogantly folded his arms over his chest. Kuina chuckled and volunteered to go in his place. With a quick kiss on the cheek, she dashed off to avoid hearing Zoro fuss about public displays of affection._

_The dark blue-haired girl hummed happily to herself as she walked down the stairs and gathered the necessary supplies. There were so many of them, too. Streamers, balloons, party hats and favors. If you could name something that belonged at a party, it was their._

_Rather than grabbing just a few of the items and returning later, Kuina held all she could (attempting to mimic her boyfriend's 'I'll-carry-as-many-swords-as-I-can' style). Back on her way upstairs, she had nearly reached the top when a roll of streamers fell just below her right foot. With so much other stuff blocking her view already, it was only natural that she did not see the streamers roll beneath her._

_Placing her foot down, she suddenly felt her steps trip and a falling sensation consumed her. She screamed and Zoro immediately knew something was wrong without having to be there._

_He rushed to the stairs, sensei and several other students behind him, and found he had arrived too late. Kuina was lying at the bottom of the staircase, all the party supplies scattered about her unmoving body. Her neck had snapped at a hideous angle. Later, the doctors would say she had died instantly without feeling any pain._

_Zoro blamed no one but himself. It was supposed to be _him_ to go down those steps. It should've been _him _to slip and fall. But it wasn't it. It was Kuina. The one and only girl he had ever cared for._

_A week later, he found that he could no longer concentrate on his practice without her going through his mind. His technique was sloppy. His moves were shaky. His breaths were uneven. The boy had totally convinced himself that the accident was his fault and that he was the one who had ruly killed Kuina. He should've been there to protect her. To catch her. But we wasn't._

_What good was he now?_

_Like all forms love had to offer, Zoro set down his kendo sword and vowed never to partake in such a foolish, painful, heart wrenching practice ever again._

_Not once in all eternity._

**Tsuzuku…**

* * *

**Ending Omake**

Icebender: (hanging off of Luffy's shoulder) Hiii!

Luffy: Yo! (pats Icebender on head)

Icebender: (giggles)

Usopp: Y'know, I've been wondering something.

Icebender: (dazed and clinging to Luffy like life itself) Whassat?

Usopp: How come you haven't brought Nami here yet? She's your favorite female character, isn't she.

Icebender: (falls to floor)

Chopper: Are you alright?

Icebender: Well, it's not like I haven't tried to get her in here. No offense, but it gets kinda boring with you guys, besides Luffy and Chopper, all the time.

Usopp: That whole thing was directed at me, wasn't it?

Icebender: Anyway, as bad I'd love to get Nami-swan in here, her appearance fee is just too expensive. I have a budget, y'know?

Luffy: Oh. How much would it be to have her show up?

Icebender: About one thousand beli.

UsoCho: ARE YOU SERIOUS?!

Icebender: (nod nod) Just ask her manager.

Luffy: Her… manager?

Robin: Yes? Did you call Captain-san? Author-san?

Luffy: (amazed) Whoa, Robin, when'd you get in here?!

Robin: (smirks) I've been here long enough. You're quite the clingy person, Author-san. Have you always been that way?

Icebender: (blushes)

Usopp: Creeepyyy...


	8. Dauntless Venture

**Disclaimer**: Too bad I don't get paid for writing. That'd just be the sheer awesomeness of pie times two to the fifth of Y. But alas, I don't get paid, thus I am unable to claim this One Piece of work (XD) as my own.

**Summary**: Maybe the reason he's so happy and friendly is because he's scared of losing even a single friend. Truthfully, Luffy just can't stand being alone. But he never will be as long as Zoro's there. AU ZoLu.

**Warnings**: The main characters, and maybe a few others, are… GEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIII!! Deal with it, for it shall not change. Imagine how _that_ would affect the plotline!

Luffy: Zoro, I'm _not_ in love with you!

Zoro: Um… me neither?

The End.

Heh, seeing as how I'm two days later than I usually am, how about we just make this a "it comes out when it come out" type of thing. Sorry my dear readers, but a lot of things have come up at once, so I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update. And no, that it _not_ a cop out for me to be lazy… mostly. But, hey, I'm writing this on Sunday which is usually my "Lazy Bitch" day so smile everyone! Wow, I've rambled a lot more than usual today…

* * *

**Dauntless Venture**

He'd come and sit there a lot more often lately, noticed the librarian with silky raven hair. For the past few days, Zoro would completely skip his entire lunch period only to slothfully lie back in one of the padded wooden chairs.

The norm for his usual library time would be once or twice or week, but only after he had stayed in the cafeteria long enough to grab a tray and finish his meal. The fact that he was skipping his usual procedures piqued the interest of Nico Robin as she quietly strolled over the small work table where the green-haired senior was stationed. In her smooth slender arms she held a stack of books and began placing them on shelves if only to give her an excuse to spy.

Taking a closer peek, she noticed that Zoro was not only slouched on top of the table, but he was slouched while reading a book! Not just any regular library book either! In fact, it wasn't even a book! What Zoro was presumably reading (while trying to cover up at the same time) was one of those girly magazines that told you exactly how to win the guy of your dreams.

Robin couldn't help it, she let out a small gasp and gave a small chuckle all the while putting two and two together. Robin was a lot of things, but oblivious was definitely not one of them. She had seen the senior and his small group of those he considered friends walking down the hallways. More importantly, however, she had instantly noticed the longing glance that Zoro would pass to his shorter friend in the red vest. Sometimes it was the other way around, but more often than not it was Zoro doing the glancing.

She smiled to herself once more before stacking up another lengthy hardback book. If she read the title correctly, it had something to do with wizards going to a special academy.

_Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit!!_ Zoro's mind swore rapidly while he flung his entire body over the magazine. _Did she see?! She was laughing about something just now, wasn't she?! Idiot Zoro! Don't read something as embarrassing as this and sit in the _front_ of the library!!_

If no one had noticed what he was doing before, they definitely had now, considering the loud squeaking noise made when he threw himself forward. He cast a string of paranoid looks in seven different directions including his peripheral vision. Sighing to himself, he sat back properly in the seat and continued the article on how to apply make-up to bring out the mysterious yet desirable look in your eyes.

Gosh, was he an idiot. And he knew it too.

"Would you like some help, Swordsman-san?"

Zoro almost, almost, _almost_ let out something akin to a scream. Even if it had manage to slip past his lips, it would've been a very manly scream. Coughing into his palm, he cursed his ever-growing stupidity for not bothering to check final eighth direction in his vision.

How the hell did the librarian take the seat _directly in front of him_ and have him be completely unaware? Shit, how long had she been there? Maybe she really did see something not meant for human eyes.

Slowly, Zoro tried to slip the magazine under the table without her noticing. It seemed to be yet another futile effort.

"I'm going to feel bad if you don't say anything, Swordsman-san," Robin continued, that all-knowing smile plastered all over her face. The look read 'I-know-something-you-don't-want-me-to-know-and-if-you-don't-tell-me-anything-I'll-exploit-the-hell-out-of-you.'

What a wicked, wicked woman. She had nicknames for all the students as well. Most were based off what type of character the person would play if there were a book about them. Others, like Usopp, were named after physical traits that stood out to the librarian.

"I'm not doing anything where I need somewhere to help me," Zoro finally responded in a gruff voice. The woman didn't seem phased in the least. "Go. Away." The green-haired teen ground out after several more seconds of her knowing stare. "I'm serious."

She only giggled.

"I didn't know Captain-san preferred the angry forceful type."

Zoro turned several shades of red that would put even Shanks' hair to shame. Captain-san is what she would call Luffy, wasn't it?

_Calm down, Zoro. She's just trying to make you nervous, that's all. There's no way she knows. There's no way_ anyone _knows!_

"I can help you, if you'd like."

_Dammit, she knows!!_

"Although, I don't think wearing pumps and silk gowns would increase your chances."

Zoro gulped and contemplated throwing the subscription in the face of the woman currently annoying him. Getting suspended would be bad though… especially with his record. Grumbling to himself, he came upon a very important question. He could either continue reading those girly magazines and risk even more people finding them, or he could break down and accept help from the quiet, yet nosy, librarian.

_Damn it all to fucking Hell!!_

XXdEsIcIoNcHaNgErXX

_Ace sighed, his chin resting on Luffy's shoulder. "I don't care if you have feelings for that lawn-headed idiot. I do want to know one thing, though."_

"_What's that?" the younger questioned, almost afraid of what the answer might be._

"_Do you… love him?"_

At the time, Luffy was a little taken aback by his brother's question. He really wasn't sure what to say, so just settled for the first thing that came to mind.

"_Of course I do!" _he had said. _"I love all of my friends." _Ace only laughed and ruffled his already messy hair. He sat back and gave a heavy sigh and began to fully explain exactly what he had meant by that question.

This only confused the younger D that much more. In truth, he had never experienced love outside of a family or friendship. To discover that there was another kind threw him for a real loop and had him racking his brain all night and even over the course of the next few days.

Zoro was his friend. That was reason enough to love him. What kind of person would openly say that they didn't love any one of their friends? The thought of the aforementioned kelp head instantly surfaced. Luffy could remember all the times he had stated his level of affection for their little group. In fact, he had said those same words to Sanji just yesterday after being served a particularly large, mouth-watering steak. Usopp, for whatever reason, seemed a tad jealous.

Now that he was currently thinking so deeply about it, it seemed extremely difficult to say something so emotional to Zoro if he happened to see him. Even if he could say it, the thought of Zoro not being able to say those same words hurt him somewhere deep in his soul. Luffy didn't think he'd be able to live if another mall incident had occurred.

Just thinking of the event caused tears to well up in his eyes. The fact that he was eating lunch with the others didn't help either. No matter what happened, he had to keep smiling. For their sakes. For their sakes, they could never see their leader cry ever again.

"I gotta go to the bathroom!" he announced, blinking away a stray tear. The lanky teen bounced up and left without waiting for a response.

"Hey, Luffy!" Nami called to his retreating back.

"What's with him?" Sanji questioned, swallowing a swig of soda. His had run empty already, so he just snatched one from nearby.

"Do you think one of us should go after him?" Usopp wondered, feeling for his beverage without looking down.

"Perhaps we should give Luffy-kun time to himself right now," Vivi subtly instructed.

"Yeah, you're probably right…" the long-nosed male trailed. After being unable to locate his drink, he spotted the blonde out of the corner of his eye downing what was once his. "Hey, that's mine!!"

"Thanks for telling me what I already know, you dork," responded the cook with a sly grin. "Tastes great, by the way."

"My _mouth's_ been on that!!" Usopp pointed out.

"I said it tasted great, didn't I?" Sanji retorted.

An awkward silence.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAT?!" came an annoyingly loud scream from Usopp. Nami and Vivi just giggled as the blue-haired girl handed over a bill for 20 beli.

XXdOn'TcHaSeMeXX

Luffy continued to furiously rub at his eyes as he charged down the empty hall in search of the nearest bathroom. Why there were none immediately next to the cafeteria was beyond him, but search he must if he wanted to avoid being seen as anything but happy.

_Stupid, maybe there really is something wrong with me and Ace was just being nice._ He scolded himself. He knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't help it at this point. Zoro was probably the only person who could make this all better, but the chances of being able to talk openly with him were slim to--

"Hey, watch it!" a gruff voice yelled.

"S-sorry!" Luffy replied after receiving a face full of someone else's shirt and hard chest. He looked up and saw the last person he wanted to see. Or was it the first…?

Somehow Zoro's hands had found their way to Luffy's shoulders. A pang of guilt ran through him as he noted the fresh tears and sad look in the other's eyes. He'd caused this. It was his fault. Now it was up to him to make it right.

"I really didn't see you there, I didn't mean to bump into you," Luffy continued, shifting uncomfortably under the gentle touch of Zoro's warm hands. "I was on my way to the bathroom and…"

Zoro gulped. It was now or never. Luffy could talk forever when he was nervous.

"Luffy," he began softly. He wasn't even sure the other boy heard him, but was surprised when he stopped the senseless rambling. _Dammit, Robin, someone's dieing if this doesn't work! _He relaxed his grip on the boy's shoulders and sincerely locked eyes with him. He wanted to put as much meaningful emotion into this one question as humanly possible. He wanted Luffy to _know_ he felt bad for what he had done and only wanted to make things right now.

He took a deep breath.

"Tomorrow, will you go out with me?"

The younger felt his heart flutter and the sorrowful look was replaced by one that made a rainbow seem dull and boring. Words were failing him! Zoro had just asked him out and he was so happy , so giddy, so _gay_, that he couldn't even respond! So he did the next best thing.

Luffy kissed Zoro full on the lips.

**Tsuzuku…**

* * *

**Ending Omake**

Rikki: You should be ashamed of yourself! First you start late, then you end it like that! What if you just pissed off a whole lot of people?

Icebender: Calm down, guy. I think you're looking way too much into this.

Chopper: (is 'hiding' behind Ice's leg) Who is he?

Icebender: Hmm? Oh, don't mind him. This is just Rikki, my muse for all the romance fics I do. He's like the Mii to my Shigure.

Chopper: The what to your who?

Icebender: Fruits Basket reference. Didn't expect you to get it.

Rikki: That's not the issue! You'd better update sooner next time.

Icebender: He talks big, but he's easily swayed. Watch this. (clears throat) Rikki, I heard some people talking about how cute you were. Look, there's one now! (point to Usopp drawing in corner)

Rikki: (hearts in eyes) Seriously!? (jumps Usopp and smothers him in kisses)

Usopp: (struggling to get away) Geez man, what the hell!?

Chopper: Sugoi!! ...I think...

Icebender: You asshole! Don't get _that_ happy!! (tackles Rikki and the two fight for Usopp)

Usopp: I'm not sure whether to be flattered or creeped out…

Luffy: How about both? (big grin)

Icebender: (while strangling Rikki) Is that Sexy? I mean Luffy?!

Usopp: Oi, oi, what happened to me?


	9. Cumbersome Tryst Part 1

**Disclaimer**: One Piece and all things related to it belong to Eiichiro Oda or Oda Eiichiro, whichever you prefer. But man is that guy selfish? Keeping all those great characters to himself. That just pisses me off. I should be able to spend a night with… -is shot at- Sorry, sensei…

**Summary**: Maybe the reason he's so happy and friendly is because he's scared of losing even a single friend. Truthfully, Luffy just can't stand being alone. But he never will be as long as Zoro's there. AU ZoLu.

**Warnings**: See the EIGHT pervious chapters. If you haven't gotten it by now then… I shall pray for you.

I LIIIIIIIIIVE!! Ladies and gentlemen (wait, do guys even read this? That'd be kinda cool. Mmm, I made guys read yaoi… -is shot at again- Alright, alright!), I proudly present the ninth chapter of Tender Seclusion!! Okay, I seriously wanna know if guys read this now…

On another note, I was struggling with how to place this chapter. Then I decided to just put it into two parts. This part deals with the set-up of the date (sorta) and the next will handle the date itself. Gosh, this chapter feels so short for some reason...

* * *

**Cumbersome Tryst**

**(Part 1)**

The sensation of Luffy's lips pressed up against Zoro's was an odd one indeed. Not the bad kind of odd like when you shove an ice cube down your back, but the good kind where sand wiggles between your toes. The monkey-like boy's lips were soft and warm similar to that of a freshly baked pie.

But unlike pie, Luffy did not have a soft and gooey center. Zoro _could_ think of something soft and gooey he wanted to put in the center of Luffy, but all rational and perverted thoughts alike had ceased the moment the had made contact. Speaking of rational thought, Zoro began to reach his hands upwards to grasp the back of the teen's raven locks when…

Luffy abruptly pulled away, blushing madly. Apparently the floor tiles had become infinitely more interesting than Zoro's green hair.

_I wonder where else his hair of green,_ he thought idly. Obsidian orbs widened and his blush only deepened with the inappropriate thought implanted in his mind. This was going to bother him for a while.

About five more minutes passed and not a word had been uttered between the two males. The bell to end lunch and start class would undoubtedly ring at any given moment. Currently, Luffy found himself wondering of all times to be shy, why did it have to be what was possibly _the_ most important moment of his life?

Another minute passed and a few students walked by, staring curiously.

"So, uh, tomorrow night?" asked the junior in the red vest to confirm their date.

"Yeah, tomorrow night. I'll pick you up," the other answered quickly, staring right past the reddening object of his affection. Funny, he almost looked like a tomato.

"And so I says to Kohza, I says," came the bright and bubbly voice that most certainly belonged to Nefertari Vivi. She was busy chatting away with Nami while Sanji followed (read as: floated) behind them with hearts in his eyes, and a confused-looking Usopp brought up the rear.

_Crap, those guys are on their way up here!_

If Luffy had acknowledged the voices of his other friends, he showed no sign of indicating that.

"S-see ya then!" Zoro whispered to him before taking off in the opposite direction. Luffy gulped then nodded, ready to head to his own class.

He bumped smack dab into Nami's chest.

"That'll be 100 million beli," she stated almost as if that were a regular occurrence. A deadly aura of flames erupted around Sanji's being.

"Luffy, you bastard! How dare you injure Nami-san's excellent, wonderful, fluffy, well-built chest!!" he raged, raising a leg to kick some sense into the blushing boy. The rage quickly disappeared when he glanced at Nami. "Would you like for me to check for damage?"

"I think I can handle it," she replied, smiling weakly.

Sanji's anger returned.

"Freakin' lanky bastard!!"

"Guys, I have a date tomorrow," the Straw Hat sighed. A hint of nervousness and uncertainty lingered in his voice. Nami began to bounce up and down in a giddy fashion, pulling Luffy into a tight hug. Vivi cheered and clapped as well. Usopp and Sanji just stared, looked at each other, then shrugged.

And from the doorway of the library into the hall, Nico Robin smiled.

XXaNiKiXX

"Where did you guys go on your first date?" Zoro suddenly questioned while seated at a three-person table in math class.

The black-haired man wearing sunglasses nearly choked on air and his shaved-headed companion snapped his pencil in half.

"Hn? What's with you guys? I just asked a simple question!" the green-haired teen shouted, flushing slightly.

An eraser was thrown a his head by the teacher.

"Well, ya see," Johnny began, adjusting the dark colored glasses on his face.

"Aniki, Johnny and I aren't a couple," finished Yosaku.

The would-be bushido eyed them suspiciously. "Yeah, right," he sneered. "When was the last time anyone's seen one of you without the other? Look, you don't have to hide it from me. You guys are dating; end of story."

The jaws of both men dropped until they slammed right into the table. Yosaku's expression was similar to a fish gasping for air. Johnny merely remained as still as a stone.

The man in blue was first to speak.

"Why would we lie to you, Aniki? Seriously, there's no way I'd date someone who dresses as weird as that!" he said, pointing to the other who kept making glub-glub motions.

"Hold on, what's that mean?!" Yosaku snapped all of a sudden.

Zoro raised an eyebrow.

"You heard me! You dress too weird to date!"

"Oh yeah? Well, why would anyone wanna date a guy who's eyes they can't even see?!"

"Your head's shaped like a potato!"

"You cry too much!"

"I can say the same thing about you!"

Silence.

Erasers flew at both their skulls.

"You three, stand outside!" ordered the teacher. Grumbling and shuffling slowly (Zoro being the slowest), the three made it out into the hallway. Johnny and Yosaku to finish their argument and Zoro continued to observe. Apparently a relationship where you fought all the time _could_ work. Hold on… violence! That gave Zoro the perfect date idea!

"And another thing, you look like you came to school right after getting your pants stolen by a gang of demented kids!"

"Ouch, that one hurt, Johnny," Yosaku sniffled, clutching his heart. Sighing, Johnny walked over to his friend and pulled him into a hug.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Let's not fight again, though," the bald man smiled.

Zoro rolled his eyes. In all honestly, Johnny and Yosaku actually _weren't_ dating. They were just super close friends and were often mistaken as a couple while both in public and at school. Some thought they were cute together, but whenever someone brought it up, the two would get into an overemotional argument and later hug it out.

_Pfft, those guys are totally dating,_ thought the senior.

XXaTtHeDrEsIdEnCeXX

"HE WHAAAAAAAAAT?!" Ace bellowed, his big brother instincts taking over. If this were some kind of fantasy anime, Luffy could swear his brother was breathing fire right about now.

"B-b-but Nii-chan, he asked me out! What was I supposed to say?" Luffy stammered, taking refuge behind the couch, lest the older D. began throwing innocent household appliances around.

"No way in deepest, fiery, pits of the seven Hells am I going to allow this! How do you know he's not playing some kind of trick to make you cry again? If you come home in tears, so help me… Luffy, if I comes to that I think you should stay with a friend for a while."

The scar under the younger's eye twitched as he played that little scenario inside his inner mind theatre. What a mess that would be…

As Ace continued to rant on and on about why Luffy shouldn't even be giving Zoro the time of day, a obvious idea struck the little monkey man in the face. Luffy jumped up from behind the safety of the sofa and walked happily over to his brother. Ace's tirade was cut short when he turned to see his brother inches from his face.

"You're jealous," Luffy stated simply.

"Huh?" questioned the freckled man, tilting his head slightly.

"You think that if I date Zoro, I won't spend anytime with you anymore. And since you're leaving soon, you wanna spend as much time with me as you can! It's so obvious now!" Luffy shouted in a loud and proud voice.

Without prior warning, Luffy pulled his brother into a tight hug strong enough to squeeze the life out of a normal person. The freckled man sputtered, struggling to get his thoughts together.

"How about this?" Luffy started, never releasing his iron grip. "For every time I kiss Zoro, I'll give you a BIG hug and kiss you on the cheek so you won't feel lonely!" He leaned upward and kissed Ace's cheek. "Would that work?"

The older of the two sighed and gave into his brother's logic (correct as it may be) and merely accepted the token of brotherly love. But hold on, since Luffy had just went ahead and hugged (read as: kissed) him, didn't that mean…?

"RORONOA!!" he roared jealously. The younger sighed and held on tighter, patting his brother gently on the back.

It's funny; the only reason Luffy and Zoro were about to get together was _because_ Ace was leaving. In a way, it was his fault all along. Who knows how long this would've taken if the pyromaniac had never wanted to leave Loguetown in the first place? Oh, the cruel irony of it all.

**Tsuzuku…**

* * *

**Ending Omake**

Icebender: Y'know, I was oh so tempted to make Ace kiss Luffy on the lips just then.

Usopp: You really should just stick with one pairing per character. It'll get confusing otherwise.

Johnny: Right! Zoro-aniki should be with Luffy-aniki.

Yosaku: You took the words right out of my mouth.

Luffy: Hey guys! (waves happily) What're you doing here?!

Yosaku: We thought we'd drop by since _someone_ might not mention us again! (glares at Icebender)

Icebender: Not my fault. You guys just sorta vanished after the whole 'Arlong Park' thing. Besides, I can't even tell you guys apart!

Johnny & Yosaku: How hard can that be?!

Icebender: See what I mean?

Usopp, Luffy, & Chopper: Yeah, yeah.

Yosaku: (cries) Is it possible that they're telling the truth, Johnny?

Johnny: It might be! Where's Zoro-aniki when we need him!?

Luffy: Hey, that's a good question! Zoro?!

--Somewhere in the forest--

Zoro: I'm going to _kill _you!! (has swords at the ready)

Ace: Bring it on, bitch! (ignites fire)

Icebender: Oi, oi, oi, oi, oi! Again with using the canon powers? Didn't you guys get enough fighting a few chapters ago?

Zoro: ONI GIRI!

Ace: HIKEN!

(Icebender is blow away while screaming for Usopp)


	10. Cumbersome Tryst Part 2

**Disclaimer**: I'm trying to get a job now, but I still don't think a minimum wage salary would be enough to purchase the magic of One Piece though. It might be enough to get a Wii and One Piece: Unlimited Adventure (if I ever find a copy…) Here's hoping!

**Summary**: Maybe the reason he's so happy and friendly is because he's scared of losing even a single friend. Truthfully, Luffy just can't stand being alone. But he never will be as long as Zoro's there. AU ZoLu.

**Warnings**: Two guys are going on a date in this chapter. Oh noes, teh horror!

Um, guys… am I in trouble? Do you hate me? Am I gonna get a bunch of angry letters in my mailbox? Should I hire a personal bodyguard? I'm scared… BUT! like a phoenix, this story has risen once again after a two month (now nearly three month) hiatus! Seriously, I understand if you guys are like super mad at me. I stopped _right_ on the chapter when Zoro and Luffy were supposed to have their date. How many of you constantly checked your inbox just _hoping_ to see this story updated? I'm so sorry! My only excuse is laziness! And school work. They are both oh so deadly when combined together.

Ja, let's get a go-go on this highly awaited chappy!

* * *

**Cumbersome Tryst**

**(Part 2)**

Knock, knock, knock came a rap on the door. The biscotti Ace was chewing on promptly snapped in half at the first knock and his eyes grew wide with a mixture of anger and apprehension at the following two.

There could be only one.

"Hai! Coming!" Luffy sang, appearing from the bathroom with a comb in hand. He danced so lightly across the living room floor that if you weren't paying close enough attention, you would swear that the younger of the D. brothers was floating.

"I still don't support this…" Ace grumbled to no one but himself, stuffing the smaller half of the Italian cookie into his mouth as to avoid saying something he shouldn't have.

Luffy opened the honey-colored apartment door with great enthusiasm and grinned even brighter than usual at his quote/unquote "date" for the evening. Zoro himself was blinded by the mere sight of the raven-haired boy's teeth. Blindly reaching forward, the would-be bushido felt around Luffy's boyish face until he grabbed his jaw and firmly (yet gently) shut it to restore his eyesight.

_That's one…_ thought the older brother to himself, never taking his eyes away from the 'rapist' who had just attempted to molest the mouth of his innocent little brother.

"Sorry, sorry!" Luffy called in his usual cheerful tone. "I was so nervous, I couldn't stop brushing my teeth while I was getting ready!" he grinned again, causing the taller of the two to flinch backwards.

"I can tell," Zoro said flatly, placing a hand on top of the grinning little monkey's nest of soft raven fur (a.k.a. his head).

_That makes two…_ By this time, Ace was seething at the huge HUGE amount of physical contact between the two. Had Zoro no shame!? Doing these kinds of things in front of Luffy's own brother! How _dare_ he?! That green-haired bastard!!!

"Where're we goin'?" the bouncy junior asked without even trying to hide his excitement.

"You'll see when we get there," responded Zoro offhandedly. He most certainly wasn't used to the dating scene and truly had no idea how to act. Drawing what he deemed to be the best conclusion, Zoro decided to act like he had when he and Luffy were just friends.

When? They hadn't even gotten out of the house yet and Zoro's mind had already registered them as a couple! Wasn't he the one who was supposed to be against this?!

"Damn hormones," he bit under his breath.

"Huh?" Luffy questioned, tilting his head to the side.

"Nothing; let's just go," responded the man with seaweed-colored hair.

"Hai!" sang the younger once again, clinging to Zoro's arm affectionately.

_And goddamnit, that's three!_ Ace immediately bolted up from the kitchen counter, a dangerous aura of flames beginning to surround him.

"But I'm warning you," Luffy stated, "There'd better be a lot of meat at this mystery place."

"What is it with your unhealthy obsession with meat?" asked the senior, only slightly concerned that the younger boy had now attached himself to him. The walk to his car would be awkward… Slowly, the man sniffed the air. "Hey, did it just get warmer in here all of a sud--"

"NIICHAN ATTACK!!!"

In the blink of an eye, the lawn-headed man was on the ground trying his hardest to get his poor neck out of Ace's lethal protection grip of death.

XXmYoWnPaCeXX

"Yosh! As you all know, it was just a little while ago that we discovered subject Roronoa Zoro was head over heels for subject Monkey D. Luffy. Quite expectedly, our quote/unquote 'captain' feels the same. A lot more acceptingly if I might add. Tonight, it is our mission to make sure that this plan to make their first official date a success is realized without fail! Do I make myself clear?!"

"Sir! Yes sir, Nami-swan!" Sanji eagerly responded without hesitation. The empowering speech his wonderful and gorgeous Nami-san had delivered had put him into full on love-love mode. Though he did kind of mute the parts that were about Zoro.

"I still don't get how I got dragged into this," Usopp mumbled to himself with his head in his hands. "Tonight was supposed to be Chopper's bath night."

"Suck it up and make the best of it!" Sanji yelled to the long-nosed teen. "If Nami-san says we're having a group meeting, then it should be your top priority to get to said group meeting!"

"Oh yeah?! I'll suck _you_ up!" came Usopp's hasty retort. A little too hasty at that.

An uncomfortable silence fell upon Nami's living room.

"Usopp, no. Rephrase that," the blonde stated slowly.

"In any case," the bluenette heiress began, determined to get back to the subject at hand, "Does anyone even know where Luffy-kun and Mr. Bushido are supposed to be having their date?"

"Of course! I've had my top agent working on that ever since Luffy announced his little rendezvous!" Nami exclaimed proudly.

"Top agent?" pondered the curly-headed teen aloud as he stroked his chin.

"Nami-san, I think it's best if you explain." agreed the part-time cook.

The orange-haired woman pointed a finger toward her long and winding staircase. "There," she began as the sound of footsteps began echoing from the flight of steps. Vivi and the rest looked on in awe as the figure made its way to the final step, ending with a graceful stride.

Sanji's love-love level increased.

"Ooooooooh!!!!! NAMI-SWAAAAAAAAN!!!! Not only have you came up with this completely ingenious plan, but you made the number one operative in charge of gathering hidden information of this whole thing the older and much more mysterious beauty our very own librarian, Nico Robin-chwaaaaan!!!"

The raven-haired woman giggled at the introduction. "Oh, a good evening to you, Cook-san."

"Mellorine…" he sighed with content.

"Disregarding that," Nami continued, looking over to the mysteriously attractive woman, "Were you able to find out the location of Zoro and Luffy's date, Miss All-Sunday?"

_Miss All-Sunday? What is this, a spy movie? Sound oddly familiar…_ thought the long-nosed teen watching the scenario unfold.

"No ma'am Navigator-san, I didn't find out anything at all," Robin replied with a simple smile and shrug of the shoulders.

"Great! As expected of someone of your talents," Nami nodded in approval. "Hold on; what did you just say?!"

"I said I was unable to confirm the location of the date between Captain-san and Swordsman-san."

"Robin-nee-san…" whined the beli-grabbing mastermind with tears coming to her eyes.

"You have my apologies, Navigator-san, but being the librarian was my job first if you'd forgotten." the tall woman stated as calmly as possible.

"I suppose this means we're back to square one," Vivi chuckled weakly.

"Can I go home now?" questioned Usopp.

XXlEt'sGeTrEaDyToRuMbLeXX

"You're okay, aren't ya? Nii-chan didn't leave bruises, did he?" Luffy asked with a semi-concerned tone after shutting the door to the taller man's primary mode of mechanical transportation. The two of them had just arrived at whatever place Zoro had decided to take them on their date. It look sort of like an arena.

"Damned Fire Fist…" grumbled the senior in a low tone. He gently rubbed his neck while giving off a evil scowl of death to anyone who happened to be passing by. The afflicted area was a light shade of red by this time. It was better than before, however. After the younger of the two D.'s had finally managed to pry off his older brother with the jaws of life (I.e. brotherly face of affection), Zoro's neck resembled a ghastly red in the same shade as Hester Prynne's _A_ in _The Scarlet Letter_.

Rolling his eyes playfully, the raven-haired boy decided that his friend (because they were still in that awkward phase between 'just friends' and 'boyfriends') was more than okay and merrily bounced up to the front of the huge dome-shaped arena. Grumbling a few more obscenities, Zoro followed behind at a moderate pace.

And gosh, he just couldn't help but notice the shape of Luffy's… well, butt. It was like a little plum, the way it was shaped. The way it swayed back and forth as its owner bounced around and around seemed to hypnotize the green-haired man as he barely continued to walk forward in a straight line.

It appeared as if Luffy had opted to switch into a whole new outfit between school and the time Zoro said he would pick him up. The Straw Hat teen now wore a pair of tight (but not too tight) dark blue jeans perfect for keeping his bare legs from shaking in the brisk night air and also for showing off that nice piece of Devil Fruit stored in them.

Zoro tore his eyes away as drool began to form around his mouth. He glared at the giggling school girls who had noticed his staring and they scampered on their merry way like good little yaoi fangirls. In his glaring, he managed to lose his sense of direction and bumped smack dab into Luffy.

"Geez, Zoro, you're acting like a zombie! I stopped to wait up for you and you nearly run me over!" Luffy exclaimed good-naturedly, helping the older youth stand. A small hand idly brushed against a firm bicep for a fraction of a second. Both men blushed softly, but otherwise completely ignored the contact. "What kinda place is this anyway?" Luffy coughed, wanting to get back on the matter at hand.

"You still haven't realized it yet?" Zoro asked with a slightly puzzled tone. Really, it should've been obvious even before they made it into the parking lot. It was a lot of work just to get tickets on such short notice too! But he had somehow gotten them into his pocket thanks to the carelessness of a blue-haired man who kept exclaiming how 'SUPA' the match of the century would be. Of course, Zoro had tried to give them back, but the man (he found out his name was Franky) had bought three so he could go with a couple of friends only to find out that those friends of his had backstage passes and didn't require two extra tickets. Also, the clerk was being a real a-hole that day and wouldn't give him a refund.

Long story short, Zoro got those tickets with little hassle.

"ANIKI!!!"

His face twitched at the familiar name.

"Yo, Johnny! Yosaku!" Luffy replied waving back at the inseparable pair. "What're you guys doing at this Mystery Place?"

"Mystery Place?" questioned Yosaku. "You mean the wrestling dome? Johnny and I come here every Friday night."

"It's like our thing," Johnny added. "But we've never seen you around here, Luffy-aniki."

"And they're without Nami-aneki and the other's too…" stated the bald man suggestively.

"Aniki, is it possible that… With Luffy-aniki…?"

"Don't go jumping to conclusions when you won't even admit to your own relationship!" Zoro snapped at them, flushing a bit.

"But we _aren't_ dating!!" the two responded in unison.

"Ooh! Zoro, let's hurry! It looks like something super cool is about to happen!" shouted the hyper young lad as he once again attached himself Zoro's arm. "Bye Johnny! Bye Yosaku! I hope you guys have fun on your date too!" he yelled, bulldozing his way inside as people flew off in every possible direction.

"For the last time, WE AREN'T DATING!!!" Johsaku yelled simultaneously. The people who weren't bulldozed to the side, turned to give them odd looks.

"Ahh! Johnny, all these people are staring at us!" Yosaku gasped, clinging to the front of his partner's shirt.

"Don't worry about them," the man in sunglasses (even at night) responded softly, grasping the other man's chin. "You need only but to look at me, partner."

"Oh, John-chan!" sighed the other.

The fangirls from earlier giggled once more, snapping pictures with their ever-convenient camera phones.

Inside the large showground, Luffy stared in awe at the huge crowd of people. Everyone was screaming and shouting on opposite sides of the dome at the two burly men circling each other in the center. One was a man dressed up as a clown and with a nose so bright red that even tomatoes were jealous. The other was a man with long black hair and blue-ish body paint on his skin and teeth that looked as if they were about as sharp as a sharks. A slender woman walked seductively into the ring with card held up reading 'Round 1.' At the sound of the bell, the men charged at each other.

"Zoroooo!" Luffy shouted with childish enjoyment, "Why didn't you tell me we were going to a wrestling match!?"

"Because Yosaku told you that when we were still outside," Zoro responded under his breath.

"SUGOI!!"

**Tsuzuku…**

* * *

**Ending Omake**

Zoro: Two. Months.

Icebender: Ah, Zoro! I see you made it just fine.

Zoro: Sixty. Days.

Icebender: (nervously) Um, we're out of sake if that's what you mean…

Zoro: IT TOOK YOU TWO FUCKING MONTHS TO GET MY DATE WITH LUFFY AND YOU THINK _SAKE_ WILL MAKE IT BETTER!?

Icebender: I… I had it imported…

Zoro: Nothing even happened yet!  You divied this into three parts at the last minute, didn't you?!

Icebender: Lu-ffy! Control your dog, please!

Zoro: Give me one good reason why I shouldn't gut you and it sure as hell better be a damn good one!

Icebender: (thinking frantically)

Zoro: _Well_?! (draws Wadou)

Icebender: Dead authors can't update.

Zoro: (sighs and puts Wadou away) Goddamn you, Icebender…

Icebender: Please review all my love-lovies!  I promise not to take two months next time.  Please?  At least 5?


End file.
